LIFE  AND  TIMES 


OF 


WILLIAM  McKENDREE 

Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 


BY  ROBERT  PAINE,  D.D. 

Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South 


NASHVILLE,  TENN. 
DALLAS,  TEX.;  RICHMOND,  VA. 

PUBLISHING  HOUSE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

LAMAR  &  BARTON,  AGENTS 

1922 


htA 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

ROBERT  PAINE, 
in  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Middle  District  of  Tennessee 


PREFACE 

BISHOP  McKENDREE  was  the  first  native  American  Bishop 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  served  it  long,  faith- 
fully, and  efficiently.  His  ministerial  life  began  with  the  early 
history  of  the  Church,  extended  through  the  period  of  its  great- 
est trials,  and  closed  after  its  perfect  development  as  a  great 
ecclesiastical  organization.  The  time  when  he  ceased  "at  once 
to  work  and  live"  was  marked  by  unusal  prosperity  and  peace 
in  our  communion.  While  Bishop  Asbury  was  preeminent  in 
founding  and  spreading  Methodism  in  America,  to  Bishop 
McKendree  may  be  justly  awarded  the  distinction  of  carrying 
forward  the  work  and  securing  its  permanency  and  success  by 
his  remarkable  legislative  and  administrative  abilities.  He 
combined  in  a  high  degree  the  prescience  and  strong  com- 
mon sense  required  in  a  legislator  and  evinced  also  the 
highest  ecclesiastical  statesmanship  in  his  administrative  acts; 
and  then  his  unshrinking  submission  to  all  the  sacrifices  and 
labors  which  the  system  of  government  exacted  of  him  and 
his  profound  and  uniform  piety  gave  great  moral  force  to  the 
cause  which  he  adorned  and  beautified  by  his  life  and  labors .  He 
loved  the  Church,  the  whole  Church.  He  lived  and  labored  for 
it  and  for  nothing  else,  and  his  name  and  character  are  the  com- 
mon heritage  of  Methodism,  especially  of  American  Meth- 
ism. 

It  is  from  this  standpoint  the  author  has  attempted  to 
write  his  "Life  and  Times."  He  was  painfully  aware  of  the 
difficulties  of  his  task,  and  as  he  has  not  been  able  fully  to 
satisfy  himself,  he  cannot  hope  to  satisfy  others.  He  has, 
however,  endeavored  honestly  and  impartially  to  do  his  duty 
to  all  concerned.  He  trusts  that  this  attempt  to  perpetuate 
the  memory  and  the  influence  of  a  great  and  good  man  and  of 
his  colaborers  may  contribute  to  a  more  perfect  history  of  our 
fathers  and  promote  zeal  and  primitive  Methodistic  devotion 
in  the  ministry  and  membership  of  the  Church. 

Bishop  McKendree  has  been  dead  thirty-four  years.  His 
biography  ought  to  have  been  published  long  since.  At  his 
death  he  bequeathed  "all  his  papers  of  every  description  to 
Bishop  Soule,  to  be  used  at  his  discretion,  under  the  advice 


4  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  the  Rev.  T.  L.  Douglass;"  but  neither  of  them  wrote  a  line 
as  his  biographer. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  in  1854,  Bishop  Soule  called  attention  to  this 
subject  and  stated  that  owing  to  his  afflictions  and  the  want 
of  leisure  he  had  not  been  able  to  write  the  biography  of  his  ven- 
erated and  departed  friend,  and  despaired  of  ever  being  able 
to  do  so,  and,  thinking  it  ought  to  be  done,  he  desired  to  turn 
over  the  task  to  another.  At  the  concurrent  request  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  General  Conference,  the  writer  reluctantly 
consented  to  undertake  the  work. 

.  The  work  is  sent  forth  with  an  earnest  wish  that  it  may 
contribute  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  cause  of  pure  reli- 
gion. 

ABERDEEN,  Miss.,  July  28,  1869. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  at  its  session  in  Columbus,  Ga.,  May,  1854,  requested 
Bishop  Paine  to  write  the  biography  of  Bishop  McKendree. 
The  Conference  was  happy  in  its  selection  of  a  biographer 
of  the  venerable  Bishop.  Dr.  Paine  was  for  many  years  in- 
timately associated  with  Bishop  McKendree;  he  traveled  thou- 
sands of  miles  with  him;  frequently  heard  him  preach;  assisted 
him  in  the  preparation  of  his  addresses  to  the  General  and 
Annual  Conferences  and  other  important  pa'pers;  he  was  fa- 
miliar with  all  his  views  of  the  constitution  and  polity  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  gave  them  his  cordial  indorse- 
ment; he  was,  though  comparatively  young,  the  particular,  con- 
fidential friend  of  the  Bishop  and  entertained  for  him  the  most 
devoted  affection  and  veneration;  and  he  still  cherishes  for  his 
memory,  as  a  son  in  the  gospel,  the  most  profound  regard.  He 
was  thus  eminently  qualified  to  write  his  biography. 

Bishop  Paine  was  a  member  of  every  General  Conference 
from  1824  to  1844,  at  which  session  the  Church  was  provi- 
sionally divided.  He  was  consequently  acquainted  with  the 
leading  men  of  the  Church  who  were  associated  with  Bishop 
McKendree  and  whose  characters  are  appropriately  and  im- 
partially sketched  in  this  volume.  In  this  work,  indeed, 
will  be  found  a  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
down  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  Bishop  McKendree,  as  he 
was  identified  with  its  principal  movements  from  the  begin- 
ning. 

Bishop  Paine  has  wisely  allowed  Bishop  McKendree  to  be, 
to  a  very  great  extent,  his  own  biographer,  having  made  great 
use  of  his  Diary,  Journals,  and  other  MSS.  These  extracts 
exhibit  the  devotion  and  zeal  of  Bishop  McKendree  and  his 
associates.  The  work  is  thus  of  immense  value  to  their  suc- 
cessors in  the  ministry,  who,  it  is  hoped,  by  its  perusal  will 
be  stimulated  to  reproduce  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  and 
labors  of  those  holy  men. 

THOMAS  O.  SUMMERS. 

NASHVILLE,  TENN.,  August  1,  1869. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

Birth — Parentage — Occupation — Residence — Character  of  the  family 
— Their  circumstances — Father — Mother — Their  children — Will- 
iam—  Lucinda  —  Dorotha  —  Frances — Her  marriage  by  Bishop 
Asbury — Character  and  death — John — Thomas — James — Nancy 

D. — Like  the  Bishop — Family  lov 15 

•.»X.:>M 

CHAPTER  II 

McKendree  becomes  a  soldier  and  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  Rev- 
olution— At  Yorktown — Early  life — Education — Intellectual  char- 
acter— His  early  moral  and  religious  character — The  Church  and 
clergy — His  account  of  himself — Joins  the  Methodists — Is  discour- 
aged and  retires — Convictions  renewed  under  John  Easter — Con- 
version— Temptation — Revival  under  Easter — Opposition  to  it — 
Easter's  manner — Success — Other  eminently  useful  preachers  of',.; 
that  day — Garrettson,  Ellis,  Watters,  Hull,  Cooper,  Moore,  What*nw 
coat,  Lee — Account  of  Philip  Bruce 20 

CHAPTER  III 

Letter  from  W.  McKendree  to  Bishop  Asbury  in  1803 — His  conver- 
sion— Entrance  on  the  ministry — Joins  the  Virginia  Conference — 
Misled  by  Mr.  O'Kelly — Returns  to  the  work 31 

CHAPTER  IV 

Mr.  McKendree  joins  the  Virginia  Conference  1787 — Appointed  to 
Mecklenburg  Circuit — Burchett,  Massie,  Valentine  Cook,  and  John 
McGee  admitted  the  same  time — Numbers  in  Society — Conference 
of  1789 — Cumberland  Circuit — Conference  of  1790 — Ordained  dea- 
con— The  Council  a  failure — Appointed  to  Portsmouth  Circuit — 
Rev.  D.  Jarratt — Extracts  from  Diary 43 

CHAPTER  V 

Extracts  from  his  Diary — Preaches  two  hours — Vessels  in  a  gale  — 
Feels  like  a  wanderer — Conversions — Preaches  in  the  open  air — • 
In  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk — Bands — Very  busy — Children's  class 
— Duty  to  baptized  children — Self-dedication — Emancipation — Is 
changed  to  another  circuit — "Power" — Good  breeding — New  cir- 
cuit— His  course  of  life.  .  57 


8  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

CHAPTER  VI 

McKendree's  Diary — Fasting — Reproof — Mr.  O'Kelly  attacks  the 
Council  —  His  course  —  Itinerancy — Tobacco  —  Preparation  for 
preaching — Selecting  and  changing  texts — Different  kinds  of  style — 
The  kind  for  the  pulpit — O'Kelly's  Convention — The  regular  Coun- 
cil— Mr.  Asbury  gives  it  up — McKendree  visits  his  father — Meets 
Bishop  Asbury — Is  delighted — Mr.  Wesley's  death — Dr.  Coke  goes 
to  England — McKendree  ordained  elder  December  25,1791 69 

CHAPTER  VII 

McKendree  appointed  to  Greenville  Circuit  in  1791 — General  Con- 
ference, 1792 — O'Kelly  withdraws  and  dies — McKendree  declines 
the  work,  but  soon  resumes  it — Asbury  appoints  him  to  Norfolk — 
Conference  in  Petersburg  in  1773 — Travels  three  months  with  As- 
bury— Union  Circuit — Philip  Bruce,  presiding  elder — Tobias  Gib- 
son, his  colleague — Conference  in  1794  at  Mabry's — John  Kobler — 
Conference,  1795 — Is  made  presiding  elder — Continued  three  years 
— 1798  he  presides  in  the  bounds  of  Baltimore  Conference — In 
1800  Bishop  Asbury  takes  him  to  the  West — Large  District — Diffi- 
culties— Labors — Usefulness — 1801  travels  through  the  wilderness 
with  Asbury — In  1804  General  Conference — Jerks — Dancing — 
Shaking  Quakers — Seceders  from  Presbyterian  Church — Marshall- 
ites — Stoneites — McKendree  chief  conservator  of  Methodism  in  the 
West 85 

CHAPTER  VIII 

McKendree  presides  at  the  Western  Conference,  1804 — Bishop  What- 
coat's  death,  1806 — McKendree  in  Illinois  and  Missouri — Review 
of  the  work  in  the  West — Delegated  General  Conference  needed — 
A  bishop  wanted — New  York  plan  to  elect  one — Defeated  by  Vir- 
ginia Conference — General  Conference,  1808 — McKendree  made 
bishop — His  qualifications — Dr.  Coke's  letter 105 

CHAPTER  IX 

1808  an  era  in  Methodism — Bishop  McKendree's  first  tour  and  first 
Conference  at  Liberty  Hill — Action  on  slavery — The  South  Caro- 
lina Conference — First  missions  to  slaves — Two  Virginia  Confer- 
ences— Philadelphia  and  New  York  Conferences — Steamboat  ex- 
citement— New  England  Conference — Camp  meetings  at  Pike  Run, 
Zanesville,  and  Collins's  Camp  Grounds — Western  Conference  at 
Cincinnati,  September  30, 1809 — Extracts  from  his  Journal — Meth- 
odists taxed  for  the  benefit  of  Congregationalists  in  Connecticut — 
His  presidency — Dr.  Coke — His  overture  to  Bishop  White  in  1791 
explained  and  vindicated — His  proposal  to  divide  the  work  with 
Bishop  Asbury — His  death  and  character 125 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  9 

CHAPTER  X 

Bishops  McKendree  and  Asbury  go  from  Cincinnati  to  South  Caro- 
lina Conference — Thence  to  Virginia  Conference — To  Baltimore — 
Easton,  Pa. — New  York — New  England — Genesee  Conference — 
Camp  meeting  Conferences — Through  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee 
— Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  go  on  horseback  to  South  Caro- 
lina— Winter  tour — Letter  from  Bishop  Morris — Method — Mrs. 
Mabry's  letter — Attends  various  Conferences — Letter  to  Bishop 
Asbury  about  stationing  the  preachers — General  Conference  of  1812 
— Presiding  elder  question — No  bishop  elected —  Earthquake — War 
— Letters 150 

CHAPTER  XI 

Difficulties  and  comforts — New  York  Conference — New  England 
Conference  changed  on  account  of  war — Tendency  of  selling  pews — 
Genesee  Conference — Ohio — Steubenville — Tennessee  Conference 
— Cannot  attend  Louisiana  Conference — T.  L.  Douglass — Bishops 
Asbury  and  McKendree  on  slavery — Blackman's  position  on  the 
subject — He  goes  as  chaplain  to  volunteers  at  the  call  of  General 
Jackson — William  Burke's  letter — South  Carolina  and  Virginia 
Conferences — "Official  decisions" — Buxton — New  York  Confer- 
ence— Bishop  Asbury's  opinion  of  Bishop  McKendree's  sermon — 
Joshua  Marsden  in  United  States — He  applies  for  employment — 
Resigns  it — Why? — Bishop  Asbury's  condition — His  will — Why  he 
expected  to  live  long — Painful  round  of  Conferences  in  1814 — Bish- 
op McKendree's  fall — Wounding  hip  and  ribs — Tennessee  Confer- 
ence held  at  camp  meeting  in  Logan  County,  Ky. — Neither  of  the 
bishops  can  be  at  the  Mississippi  Conference — Genesee  Conference 
— Tornado — Gets  to  Cincinnati — South  Carolina — Virginia — 
Maryland — Pennsylvania — Asbury  preaches — Found  Dr.  Coke  at 
Albany,  N.  Y. — Ohio  Conference  at  Mechanicsburg — "Long,  ear- 
nest talk" — Bishop  Asbury  crosses  Alleghany  sixty-two  times — 
Both  bishops  attend  the  Tennessee  Conference — Separated  never 
to  meet  again  on  earth — McKendree  at  South  Carolina  Conference 
— Asbury  within  thirty  miles — Very  feeble — Hammet's  people  re- 
turn— Virginia  Conference  at  Raleigh — Bishop  McKendree's  father 
dies — Baltimore  Conference — Bishop  Asbury  absent,  and  preaches 
his  last  sermon  in  Richmond,  Va. — His  death — Bond's  letters  in- 
closing Asbury's  views  and  last  letter  to  McKendree — His  person 
and  character 169 

CHAPTER  XII 

Bishop  Asbury's  valedictory — His  Birth — Death — Burial — Remains 
removed  to  Baltimore .  .  .  186 


10  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

CHAPTER  XIII 

General  Conference  of  1816 — Bishop  McKendree's  address — George 
and  Roberts  elected  bishops — Sketches  of  them — Bishop  McKen- 
dree's Journal — The  work  divided — New  York  and  Kentucky  Con- 
ferences— Bishop  McKendree  organizes  the  Missouri  Conference — 
McKendree  and  George  at  South  Carolina  Conference — Changes 
made  by  General  Conference — From  Middlebury  to  Tennessee — 
Norton  rejoins  him — To  Mississippi  Conference  on  horesback — 
McMahon  and  wife  with  him — Mississippi  Conference  at  Midway, 
1817 — To  South  Carolina  Conference — Griffin  with  him — Difficul- 
ties of  traveling — Crossing  the  Chattahoochee — General  Gaines — 
Indian  murders — In  Sparta — Myers — Conference  in  Augusta,  Ga. 
— Roberts  arrives — They  go  to  Virginia  Conference  in  Norfolk — 
Dr.  Phoebus — Travels  alone  and  leads  a  pack  horse — In  Tennessee 
— Visits  Southwest  extensively — Ohio  Conference  of  1818 — Mis- 
souri— Troubles  at  Tennessee  Conference — Writer's  first  acquaint- 
ance with  him — Starts  to  Mississippi  Conference  with  Seaton  and 
Edge — The  shock — Very  much  affected — Mississippi  Conference — 
Back  to  Tennessee —  Bishop  Roberts's  letters — Notes  on  preacher's 
qualifications — Dr.  Emory — Letters  between  them — Their  subse- 
quent intercourse 202 

CHAPTER  XIV 

General  Conference  of  1820 — Address  of  Bishop  McKendree — Au- 
thorized to  travel  at  his  discretion — A  bishop  to  be  elected — J.  Soule 
elected — Presiding  elder  question — Positions  of  the  bishops — "Com- 
promise" or  "peace  measure" — Soule  desires  leave  to  decline — 
McKendree's  statement — Facts — Powers  of  General  and  Annual 
Conferences  and  bishops — Soule's  letter — Bishops  confer — Pre- 
pare to  ordain  Soule — The  resolutions  suspended- — Bishop  McKen- 
dree's appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences — Precedent  for  it — Soule 
declines — His  reasons — The  other  bishops  to  do  the  work  next  four 
years — Bishop  McKendree  troubled,  but  resolves  to  do  what  he  can 
— Gets  to  Tennessee  Conference 231 

CHAPTER  XV 

Bishop  McKendree's  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences  as  to  the  sus- 
pended resolutions — The  Southern  and  Western  Conferences  con- 
sent— Five  others  reject  it — It  fails — By  whom  and  why — Wes- 
leyan  Repository — Mutual  Rights — Methodist  Protestant  Church 
— Journal  resumed — Henry  Smith's  narrative — Visits  extensively — 
Preaches  at  camp  meeting — He  goes  South — South  Carolina  Con- 
ference— J.  Soule's  letters — Dr.  Capers's  letter — His  character  and 
influence — His  second  letter — The  era  of  missions — Cherokee  and 
Choctaw — Missions  to  slaves — Bible  and  Sunday  School  Societies. .  258 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  11 

CHAPTER  XVI 

Tennessee  Conference  in  1823 — Bishops  McKendree  and  George  pre- 
sent— Vertigo — McKendree's  purpose  to  cross  the  mountains  in  the 
winter  abandoned — The  promise  to  take  him  to  Baltimore  in  the 
spring — Starts  in  March,  1824 — Companions  in  travel — Difficulties 
on  the  route — Crosses  the  Cumberland  Mountains — Winton's — 
Wilkerson's — Crosses  the  Alleghany  Mountains — The  night  at  the 
hut — Crosses  the  Yadkin  in  a  canoe — Wilkesboro — Salem — Guil- 
ford  Battle  Ground— The  effect  of  that  battle  in  1791 — Person 
County — Crosses  Roanoke  River — At  Taylor's — Boydtown — 
Adam's — Crossing  Meherrin  River — Calls,  on  the  families  of  his 
friends  on  his  route — R.  C.  Boothe's — In  Petersburg,  Va. — Rich- 
mond— Alexandria — Georgetown — At  Judge  McLean's — McKin- 
ney's — Mr.  Calhoun's  letter — Dr.  Bascom  chaplain  to  Congress — 
In  Baltimore — W.  Wilkins — Dr.  Samuel  Baker — Impression  made 
by  the  tour 283 

CHAPTER  XVII 

General  Conference  of  1824 — Messrs.  Reece  and  Hannah — Commit- 
tees— Petitions — Report  on  Episcopacy — Winans  on  the  report  and 
the  constitution — "The  constitutional  test" — Bishop's  veto — 
Amendment  to  the  constitution  proposed  by  the  bishops  and  others 
— J.  Soule's  views — Question  carried — The  suspended  resolutions 
question — Left  as  unfinished  business — Quorum  broken — Bishop 
Roberts  and  Freeborn  Garrettson — Soule  and  Hedding  elected 
bishops — Ordained — Sketches — Bishop  McKendree's  Address — 
He  is  gratified 292 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Bishops  divide  the  work  for  four  years — Bishop  McKendree 
starts  on  a  tour  of  three  thousand  miles — His  letter  to  Dr.  Sargent 
— His  route  from  Baltimore  to  the  Wyandotte  Mission — Bishop 
Soule  and  family — Jacob  Crist — Finley  meets  him  at  Columbus, 
Ohio — Visits  and  preaches  to  the  Indians — Weary — Bear  skin  bed 
on  the  ground — Gets  to  Kentucky  Conference  at  Versailles — At- 
tends the  Missouri  Couference — Returns  to  Tennessee  very  feeble 
— His  letter  to  Bishops  Roberts  and  Soule  resigning  the  active  duties 
of  the  superintendency — Resumes  his  travels  in  the  spring  of  1825 
— B.  T.  Crouch's  letter— Mr.  Summerfield 301 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Richard  Reece  and  John  Hannah  messengers  from  England — Mr. 
Reece's  letter — Bishop  McKendree's  reply — He  goes  through  Ken- 
tucky— Rests  five  days  in  ninety-five — Attends  Kentucky  Confer- 
ence with  Bishop  Roberta — J.  B.  Finley  and  Dr.  M.  Ruter — Thence 


12  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

to  Jonesboro,  East  Tennessee — Attends  the  Holston  Conference — 
Lynchburg — Hezekiah  G.  Leigh — Portsmouth — Attends  the  Balti- 
more, Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Genesee  Conferences — Thence 
to  South  Carolina — Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1827 — Baltimore — 
Philadelphia — Thence  west  to  the  Wyandotte  Mission,  through 
Ohio — Kentucky  Conference — Winters  in  Tennessee — In  1828  he 
and  Gwin  go  to  the  General  Conference  -at  Pittsburgh — Retrospect 
— A  true,  apostolic  episcopos — Jesse  Walker — Bishop  McKendree's 
characteristics — Old  Gray — Another  round — Philip  Bruce — Jeffer- 
son and  Adams  die — South  Carolina  Conference  in  Augusta,  Jan- 
uary 11, 1827 — Roberts  and  Soule  there  also — Back  to  Baltimore — 
Sick — Gets  to  the  Wyandottes,  then  to  Nashville — His  skeptical 
doctor  convinced — Freeborn  Garrettson's  death — Indian  letter — 
Henry  Smith's  letter — Letter  from  Lewis  Garrett 312 

CHAPTER  XX 

General  Conference  of  1828  at  Pittsburgh — Bishop's  Address — Sus- 
pended resolutions  lost — "Wesleyan  Repository" — "Mutual 
Rights" — McCane  and  others  expelled  — Memorial — Report  upon 
it  by  Dr.  Emory — Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond  and  Dr.  Emory  defend  the 
Church — Canada  question  settled — Action  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence— Inferences — Dr.  Capers  elected  delegate  to  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Conference — Dr.  Fisk — Bishop  McKendree's  account 
of  this  Conference — A  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  Church — The  Bish- 
op's Journal — Travels  back  to  Tennessee — Attends  quarterly  and 
camp  meeting  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee — His  route  to  Georgia 
over  Lookout  Mountain — Preaches  to  an  Indian  Council — Gets  to 
Athens,  Ga. — At  Asbury  Hull's — Sick — Ordains  Stephen  Olin — 
Sketch  of  him 332 

CHAPTER  XXI 

McKendree  at  Augusta — Savannah — Preaches  to  whites  and  blacks — 
Conference  at  Charleston — Bishop  Roberts  absent — Not  able  to 
preside — Returns  to  Lynchburg,  to  the  Virginia  Conference — To 
the  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences — Thence  through 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky  to  Tennessee — Douglass'  camp 
meeting — His  voice — Conversion  of  a  mute — Bishop  George's 
death — Sketch — The  Bishop's  homes  at  Nashville — J.  T.  Elliston's 
and  H.  R.  W.  Hill's — Down  the  Mississippi  River — The  Colonel — 
His  plan — Liberia 344 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Begins  his  tour  in  1830  in  feeble  health — Friends  protest — Breaks 
down  at  Jonesboro — Returns — Discontinues  his  Diary — In  1831 
starts  again — Spends  the  winter  in  Baltimore — General  Conference 
of  1832 — Bishops'  Address — Action  of  the  General  Conference  as  to 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  13 

Bishop  McKendree — J.  O.  Andrew  and  John  Emory  elected  Bish- 
ops— Sketches — Emory  as  President 354 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

Bishop  Emory's  visit  to  the  South — His  death — His  letter  to  Bishop 
McKendree — Both  died  the  same  year — Bishop  McKendree  takes 
final  leave  of  old  friends — Gets  back  to  Tennessee  on  a  bed  in  a  car- 
riage— Letter  from  Bishop  Morris — Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  letter — Mel- 
ville B.  Cox — His  account  of  himself — Goes  as  missionary  to  Li- 
beria—Dies   360 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

McKendree  attends  the  Tennessee  Conference  in  Pulaski,  1833 — Bish- 
op Roberts  fails  to  get  there — Bishop  McKendree  unable  to  pre- 
side— His  substitutes — Meteoric  shower — He  appoints  T.  L.  Doug- 
lass presiding  elder — Sketch  of  him — Bishop  McKendree's  Address 
to  his  colleagues — His  sermon — Returns  to  Nashville  exhausted — 
Preaches — Resumes  his  Journal — Watch  night — Starts  to  New  Or- 
leans, January  1,  1834 — His  account  of  the  tour — At  Vicksburg — 
C.  K.  Marshall — At  Natchez — Judge  Edward  McGehee  and  the 
Rev.  John  C.  Burruss — Dr.  Tooley — "  Slight  paralysis" — His  letter 
to  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Owen — Returns  to  Tennessee — His  last  camp 
meeting  and  interview  with  William  Burke — His  last  Conference  at 
Lebanon,  Tenn.,  1834 — Requested  to  prepare  his  biography — His 
reply — Last  document 370 

CHAPTER  XXV 

Bishop  McKendree  leaves  all  his  papers  to  Bishop  Soule  and  T.  L. 
Douglass — The  Lebanon  Conference  a  time  of  great  interest — He 
visits  the  Conference  for  the  last  time — Bids  adieu — Gwin,  Page, 
Douglass,  and  McGee  there — Returns  to  Nashville — Preaches  his 
[last  sermon  there,  November  23 — Goes  to  his  brother's — Depressed 
— His  last  battle — Victor — His  sufferings — Effect  of  prayer — Fam- 
ily love — The  closing  scene — "All's  well" — His  burial — Should  his 
remains  be  removed? — Review  of  his  life  and  character. 385 


14  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

APPENDIX 

PAGE. 

SERMON  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE 398 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  ASBURY  TO  THE  REV.  JOSEPH  BENSON 434 

DR.  WINANS'S  LETTER  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  GIVING  PARTICU- 
LARS OF  SAMUEL  PARKER'S  DEATH 447 

LETTER  FROM  WILLIAM  WINANS  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 453 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  LETTER  TO  BlSHOP  ASBURY 456 

THE  REV.  ANDREW  MONROE'S  NOTES  OF  TRAVEL  WITH  BISHOP  MC- 
KENDREE   457 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  TO  BISHOP  SOULE 461 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  LIBERALITY 463 

BISHOP  ASBURY 's  PAPERS  BEQUEATHED  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  AND 

DANIEL  HITT 464 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE  TO  DR.  SARGENT 465 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  UNION  OF  THE  PRESBYTE- 
RIANS AND  METHODISTS  IN  1805 — THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CUMBER- 
LAND PRESBYTERIANS 468 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  ESSAYS  ON  OUR  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT 475 

LETTERS  FROM  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  TO  JOSHUA  SOULE 485 

LETTERS  OF  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  AND  BISHOP  GEORGE 490 

DONATIONS 492 

FROM  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  TO  BISHOPS  GEORGE  AND  HEDDING 494 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  MCKENDREE  TO  BISHOP  ROBERTS 496 

METHODIST  TRACT  SOCIETY 499 

LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  ROBERT  PAINE  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 500 

LETTERS  FROM  T.  L.  DOUGLASS  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 502 

LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  IRA  ELLIS  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 506 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  REPLY  TO  BISHOP  GEORGE'S  STRICTURES  UPON 

His  VIEWS  OF  THE  SUSPENDED  RESOLUTIONS 508 

BISHOP  MCKENDREE'S  PAPERS  COMMITTED  TO  JOSHUA  SOULE,  DR. 

WILKINS,  AND  T.  L.  DOUGLASS 512 

LETTERS  FROM  JOSHUA  SOULE  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 513 

LETTER  FROM  DR.  SAMUEL  BAKER  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 521 

LETTER  FROM  WILLIAM  MCMAHON  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 523 

LETTERS  FROM  THE  REV.  DR.  CAPERS  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 525 

LETTER  FROM  COLONEL  MCKINNEY  TO  DR.  CAPERS 532 

LETTER  FROM  DR.  JOHN  EMORY  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 534 

LETTER  FROM  DR.  NATHAN  BANGS  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 537 

SACRAMENTAL  SERMON  IN  NASHVILLE  BY  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 539 

CHRISTMAS  SERMON  IN  NASHVILLE,  DECEMBER  25,  1833,  BY  BISHOP 
MCKENDREE..  .  544 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  BISHOP  MCKENDREE 


CHAPTER   I 

Birth — Parentage — Occupation — Residence — Character  of  the  family 
— Their  circumstances — Father — Mother — Their  children — Wil- 
liam—  Lucinda  —  Dorotha  —  Frances  —  Her  marriage  by  Bishop 
Asbury — Character  and  death — John — Thomas — James — Nancy 
D. — Like  the  Bishop — Family  love. 

WILLIAM  MCKENDREE  was  born  in  King  William  County, 
Va.,  about  forty  miles  northeast  of  Richmond,  July  6, 1757. 
His  parents,  John  and  Mary  McKendree,  were  both  natives  of 
the  same  State.  His  father  was  a  planter,  and  William  was 
brought  up  in  the  same  occupation.  He  was  not  only  taught 
the  art  of  husbandry,  but  was  also  trained  in  early  life  to 
habits  of  industry  and  frugality. 

Our  history  of  the  McKendree  family  begins  with  the  birth 
of  William,  the  eldest  child,  while  residing  in  King  William 
County;  but  before  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  they  removed  to 
James  City  County,  about  sixty  miles  southeast  of  Richmond, 
and  near  Williamsburg,  the  well-known  seat  of  William  and  Mary 
College.  A  few  years  afterwards  they  again  changed  their 
place  of  residence  and  settled  in  Greenville  County,  upon 
Meherrin  River,  and  near  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State. 
Here  they  remained  for  many  years.  Their  pecuniary  condi- 
tion was  not  such  as  in  Virginia  would  be  called  wealthy; 
although  from  incidental  allusions  found  in  the  Bishop's  Diary, 
as  well  as  from  other  reliable  sources  of  information,  they  were 
doubtless  in  comfortable  and  independent  circumstances.  They 
were  a  plain,  industrious,  and  moral  family,  without  preten- 
sions to  fame  or  extraordinary  talents,  yet  even  in  the  Old 
Dominion  holding  a  reputable  position  for  intelligence,  in- 
tegrity, and  honorable  estimation. 

John  McKendree,  the  father  of  the  Bishop,  seems  to  have  been 
in  every  respect  a  most  worthy  and  exemplary  man.  To  make 
provision  for  the  wants  of  his  large  family  and  to  guide  them 
by  precept  and  example  to  honor,  usefulness,  and  piety  were 
the  great  objects  of  his  efforts.  With  strong  domestic  affections 
and  without  any  desire  for  notoriety,  he  led  an  humble,  in- 


16  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

dustrious,  and  religious  life.  In  1810  he  removed  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Sumner  County,  Tenn.,  in  company  with  his  son,  Dr. 
James  McKendree,  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Charles  Harris,  with 
tlieir  families,  and  his  two  unmarried  daughters.  In  October, 
1815,  this  venerable  and  excellent  man  gently  breathed  his 
last,  leaving  a  dying  testimony  to  the  truth  and  power  of  re- 
ligion corresponding  with  his  exemplary  life.  He  died  on  his 
eighty-eighth  birthday.  The  patriarch  was  buried  near  the 
residence  of  his  son  James,  in  Sumner  County,  Tenn.,  in  a  re- 
tired and  beautiful  rural  locality  and  beneath  the  wide-spread 
branches  of  a  cluster  of  venerable  forest  trees.  It  is  said  that 
the  Bishop  was  often  heard  to  express  a  wish,  should  he  die 
near  there,  to  be  buried  by  the  side  of  his  venerated  father; 
and  as  he  did  die  at  the  very  place,  he  was  interred  there,  and 
his  mortal  part  still  reposes  in  that  consecrated  spot. 

Mary,  the  mother  of  Bishop  McKendree,  \vas  a  great  suffer- 
er. About  the  year  1769,  she  became  so  prostrated  by  severe 
affliction  that  she  was  ever  afterwards  con  fined  to  her  room  and 
generally  to  her  bed.  Her  health,  however,  gradually  improved, 
so  that  she  was  able  to  oversee  her  domestic  affairs,  devolving 
upon  her  daughters  the  more  active  duties  of  the  household. 
But,  although  an  invalid  and  confined  to  her  room  for  twenty 
years,  her  example  of  patience,  her  tact  in  planning  and  direct- 
ing her  domestic  duties,  and  her  kind  and  Christian  manners 
were  of  inestimable  value  to  her  family.  Such  sweetness  of 
temper,  so  many  sensible  lessons  upon  the  proprieties  of  life, 
and  such  a  consistent  exemplification  of  the  purity  and  power 
of  religion  as  she  exhibited  throughout  these  long  years  of 
affliction  made  an  ineffaceable  impression  upon  her  children; 
and  doubtless  that  impression  was  stronger  from  the  fact  that 
these  lovely  traits  were  seen  in  a  fond  and  suffering  mother. 
But  this  deeply  afflicted  lady,  having  been  mercifully  spared 
to  train  her  young  family  for  twenty  years  after  she  became 
a  hopeless  invalid,  was  at  last  permitted  to  rest  from  her  sor- 
rows and  to  die  in  the  triumphs  of  Christian  faith.  Her  death 
occurred  in  1789. 

The  memory  of  his  patient,  tender,  bed-ridden,  and  yet  re- 
signed and  happy  mother  lingered  in  the  heart  of  her  devoted 
son  to  his  latest  hour  and  always  associated  with  the  name 
of  mother  all  that  is  pure  and  lovely  in  humanity  sanctified  by 
Christianity. 

The  children  of  this  family  were — 

1.   William,  the  subject  of  this  biography. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  17 

2.  Lucinda,  who  married  Jesse  Jordan  and  died  in  Virginia 
about  1778,  leaving  an  only  child.    This  child  was  a  daughter 
who,  upon  the  death  of  her  mother,  was  taken  into  her  grand- 
father's family  and  treated  as  his  own  child. 

3.  Dorotha,  married  to  Mr.  Charles  Harris,  in  1797,  and 
who  with  her  husband  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  family  to 
the  West.    She  had  four  children,  and  died  in  Alabama  in  her 
seventy-fourth  year. 

4.  Frances,  born  June  22,  1763;  converted  in  July,  1778; 
was  married  to  the  Rev.  Nathanael  Moore,  October  12, 1815 ;  and 
died  near  Columbia,  Tenn.,  January  3,  1835.    Bishops  Asbury 
and  McKendree  were  both  present  at  her  marriage,  having 
called  to  spend  a  few  days  with  the  family  while  making  a  tour 
of  the  Western  Conferences.   The  following  characteristic  notice 
of  the  event  is  found  in  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal  in  October, 
1815: 

Tuesday,  10. — At  James  McKendree's;  Nathanael  Moore  has  come  to 
take  away  our  Sister  Frances  McKendree.    All  parties  are  pleased.  .  .  . 
On  Thursday,  I  officiated  at  the  marriage  of  Nathanael  Moore  and  Frances 
McKendree.    We  believe  it  is  of  the  Lord.    They  are  a  worthy  couple  and 
nearly  of  an  age. 

The  marriage  license  of  these  persons  is  found  among  Bishop 
McKendree's  papers,  signed  by  David  Shelby,  clerk,  and  cer- 
tified by  Bishop  Asbury  as  solemnized  by  him  October  12, 
1815. 

Bishop  McKendree  exceeded  all  men  I  have  ever  known 
for  keeping  all  papers  that  fell  into  his  hands.  Why  this  was  not 
filed  in  the  clerk's  office,  I  cannot  conjecture.  Perhaps  it  was 
forgotten. 

From  a  personal  acquaintance  with  this  estimable  and  pious 
lady,  the  writer  formed  the  opoinion  that,  as  to  intellect  and 
sensibilities,  she  very  much  resembled  her  brother,  the  Bishop. 
A  week  spent  at  her  house  in  1824  in  company  with  Bishop 
McKendree  afforded  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  her  piety 
and  patience  under  affliction  as  well  as  her  attachment  to  the 
almost  idolized  brother.  From  an  extended  obituary  notice 
of  her,  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Logan  Douglass  and  in- 
serted in  the  Methodist  Magazine  for  1826,  this  history  of 
the  McKendree  family  has  been  principally  derived.  The 
materials  of  this  history  are  understood  to  have  been  fur- 
nished by  the  Bishop  himself. 

Her  death  was  a  remarkably  calm  and  happy  one.    Her 
2 


18  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

loved  and  honored  brother  was  permitted  to  be  with  her 
for  many  days  during  her  long  and  painful  decline  and  was 
with  her  at  her  death.  And  who  that  has  ever  heard  his 
soft  and  sweetly  musical  voice  at  the  bed  of  a  dying  Christian 
but  can  appreciate  the  privilege  of  having  such  a  counselor  at 
such  a  crisis?  Nor  is  it  strange  that  so  conscientious  and  de- 
voted a  Christian,  consoled  and  instructed  by  one  so  dear  to  her 
and  so  eminently  capable  of  soothing  and  strengthening  her, 
should  have  been  found  composed  and  triumphant  when  the 
solemn  hour  of  her  exit  arrived.  Such  was  her  end.  She  had 
no  child. 

5.  John  was  the  fifth  child.    He  removed  to  South  Carolina 
and  died  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  November  28,  1817,  aged 
fifty-three  years.    His  wife  preceded  him  to  the  grave  about 
six  months.    They  left  four  children — Thomas,  William,  John 
Dudley,  and  Lemuel  Joseph. 

6.  Thomas;  he  also  went  to  South  Carolina  and  died  in  that 
State,  October,  1817,  on  Cooper  River.    He  left  two  children, 
John  James  and  Caroline. 

7.  James,  the  seventh  child,  married  in  1792,  always  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  parents,  and  brought  up  a  large  and  re- 
spectable family.     His  house  was  the  Bishop's  home,  if  he 
can  be  said  to  have  had  a  home  who  spent  his  whole  time  as  an 
itinerant.    At  his  house  their  father  died;  there  the  Bishop 
closed  his  eventful  and  useful  life;  and  there,  in  a  few  years  aft- 
erwards, James  and  Frances  were  interred  by  his  side  to  await 
"the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

8.  The  eighth  and  last  child  was  Nancy  D.    In  many  re- 
spects she  greatly  resembled  her  eldest  brother.    In  mind,  heart, 
and  manners,  she  seemed  to  be  his  counterpart.    Like  a  min- 
istering angel,  she  devoted  herself  to   the  welfare  of  others. 
She  watched  over  and  soothed  her  father  during  the  long  period 
of  his  decrepit  old  age,  attended  her  sister  Frances  in  her 
protracted  sufferings,  and  was  the  constant  and  favorite  nurse 
of  the  Bishop  in  his  last  years,  and  particularly  in  his  final  ill- 
ness.   Indeed,  her  father,  Frances,  and  William,  literally  died 
in  her  arms. 

The  Bishop  may  not  have  been  aware  of  the  fact,  but  she 
was  evidently  his  favorite.  He  had  too  much  sense  and  too 
large  a  heart  to  exclude  any  one  of  those  who  held  the 
same  relation  to  him  from  his  warm  and  fraternal  love;  but 
could  he  help  loving  Nancy  more  than  the  rest?  She  loved  him 
as  only  a  pure-hearted,  orphan  sister  can  love  a  noble  and 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  19 

fond  brother.  Toward  the  latter  part  of  their  lives,  they  had 
little  else  of  earthly  objects  to  love.  There  was  a  sameness  of 
condition — for,  like  him,  she  never  married — a  congeniality 
of  taste,  temperament,  and  mind,  which  strongly  knit  them 
together.  She  sympathized  with  him  in  his  anxieties  about 
the  Church  as  well  as  in  his  other  mental  and  bodily  afflic- 
tions, entered  with  liveliest  interest  into  his  feelings  of  entire 
consecration  to  the  one  high  and  holy  end  of  his  life,  and  doubt- 
less felt  more  than  any  one  else  could  feel  a  sisterly  pride  in 
his  position,  his  worth,  and  his  usefulness.  They  were  truly 
kindred  spirits. 

Having  lost  all  her  nearest  relations,  she,  too,  passed  away, 
in  1838,  to  reunite,  doubtless,  with  her  precious  brother  and 
to  join  the  "great  multitude  whom  no  man  can  number." 
She  was  buried  at  the  head  of  the  Bishop's  grave.  Pleasant 
in  life,  in  death  they  are  not  divided. 

A  peculiarity  which  marked  the  McKendree  family  and  dis- 
played itself  on  many  occasions  must  have  been  cherished  while 
the  children  were  all  around  the  domestic  hearth.  The  allusion 
is  to  their  very  strong  family  love.  In  the  course  of  this  bi- 
ography, we  shall  find  abundant  evidence  of  the  strength  of 
this  principle  in  several  members  of  this  amiable  and  pious 
family — especially  in  William,  Frances,  and  Nancy.  And  who 
can  estimate  the  importance  of  this  principle?  Without  it 
society  loses  one  of  its  surest  guaranties  and  religion  one  of 
its  most  potent  class  of  motives. 

It  is  the  great  principle  of  moral  gravitation,  binding  society 
together,  giving  bliss  and  sanctity  to  our  homes,  and  preserv- 
ing order  and  harmony  in  the  body  politic.  It  cultivates  the 
noblest  instincts  of  our  nature,  opens  new  and  pure  fountains 
of  enjoyment,  restrains  our  impetuous  and  dangerous  passions, 
and,  regulated  by  enlightened  and  earnest  piety,  almost  re- 
stores to  earth  again  the  long-lost  pleasures  of  paradise. 


CHAPTER   II 

McKendree  becomes  a  soldier  and  an  officer  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution 
— At  Yorktown — Early  life — Education — Intellectual  character — His 
early  moral  and  religious  character — The  Church  and  clergy — His  ac- 
count of  himself — Joins  the  Methodists — Is  discouraged,  and  retires — 
Convictions  renewed  under  John  Easter — Conversion — Temptation — 
Revival  under  Easter — Opposition!  to  it — Easter's  manner — Success 
— Other  eminently  useful  preacher*  of  that  day:  Garrettson,  Ellis,  Wat- 
ters,  Hull,  Cooper,  Moore,  Whatcoat,  Lee — Account  of  Philip  Bruce. 

Mr.McKENDREE  was  about  twenty  years  old  when  the  mem- 
orable struggle  of  our  Revolution  began;  and  although  from 
his  extreme  modesty  he  very  rarely  alluded  to  the  fact  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  took  a 
decided  part  in  that  eventful  and  glorious  war  which  resulted 
in  our  independence.  Rumor  had  connected  his  name  with 
Bruce  and  other  early  Methodist  preachers  as  having  been 
engaged  in  the  Revolutionary  War  on  the  side  of  his  country, 
but  until  his  death  called  before  the  public  the  evidence  of 
the  fact,  the  part  he  had  borne  was  generally  unknown,  except 
among  his  old  acquaintances.  In  the  Western  Methodist 
of  1835,  a  long  and  well-written  obituary  of  Bishop  McKendree 
appeared,  in  which  it  was  said  of  him:  "He  was  an  adjutant 
in  the  levies  of  his  native  State  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  and  was  in  the  commissary  department 
and  showed  his  accustomed  energy  of  character  in  making 
impressments  of  cattle  and  food  to  sustain  the  allied  armies 
of  Washington  and  Rochambeau  at  the  siege  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown."  The  Rev.  Henry  Smith,  in  his  "Recollections  of 
an  Old  Itinerant,"  p.  59,  says  of  the  Bishop:  "He  had  been  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Yorktown 
when  Cornwallis  was  taken.  In  1820,  I  passed  with  him  over 
the  ground,  and  he  showed  me  where  his  camp  was."  And 
the  same  author,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  Baltimore 
County,  Md.,  February  6,  1855,  says  upon  this  point:  "From 
what  Bishop  McKendree  told  me,  he  belonged  to  a  company 
of  volunteers  raised,  I  presume,  in  his  own  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. They  were  present  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown;  he 
pointed  out  to  me  the  place  where  they  were  encamped  when, 
in  October,  1820,  I  traveled  with  him  over  the  ground.  He 
spoke  of  exercising  their  horses  when  they  expected  to  be  called 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  21 

into  action,"  etc.  The  fact  is  also  stated  in  the  sketch  of 
Bishop  McKendree  given  by  Dr.  McClintock,  p.  69,  and  also 
the  "  Life  of  McKendree,"  written  by  Benjamin  St.  James 
Fry,  p.  14,  who  says:  "When  the  war  of  the  Revolution  was 
commenced,  and  the  call  went  forth  for  volunteers,  as  might 
readily  be  expected,  he  was  found  among  those  who  took  up 
arms  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  The  extent  of  his  service  in  the 
army  is  not  known,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  attained  to  the  rank 
of  adjutant  and  was  for  a  time  at  least  connected  with  the  com- 
missary department."  He  continued  with  the  army  for  some 
years;  indeed,  the  war  virtually  closed  with  the  surrender  of 
Lord  Cornwallis  on  October  19, 1781,  although  a  general  peace 
was  not  proclaimed  until  April  19,  1783. 

The  writer  was  for  many  years  as  familiar  with  Bishop 
McKendree  as  anyone  could  be  who  was  so  much  his  junior. 
He  was  his  traveling  companion  and  amanuensis  for  several 
months  at  a  time;  passed  with  him  by  short  stages  through 
Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  and  Virginia,  over  several  battle 
fields  of  the  Revolution;  visiting  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Ver- 
non;  talking  with  him  occasionally  about  his  recollections  of 
Washington  and  the  war  of  independence;  sitting  with  him  in 
Washington's  family  pew,  which  had  the  initials  of  his  name 
still  upon  its  door;  but  in  all  these  long  and  solitary  rides  and 
these  familiar  conversations  upon  kindred  topics,  he  never 
heard  him  allude  to  his  own  services  in  the  Revolution.  Perhaps 
he  was  afraid  of  appearing  vain  of  his  reputation  as  an  officer 
in  the  noble  struggle  for  national  independence  and  wished  to 
set  an  example  of  modesty  and  humility.  In  him  the  soldier 
of  civil  liberty  was  merged  in  the  nobler  character  of  a  true  and 
valiant  soldier  of  the  cross.  Having  done  his  duty  to  his 
country  in  the  capacity  of  a  patriot  soldier,  he  was  contented, 
and  never  boasted  of  his  feats  nor  sought  a  pension  for  his 
services.  Worldly  honors  and  riches  were  far  below  his  aim. 

Bishop  McKendree's  early  life  seems  not  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  any  very  remarkable  incidents.  He  grew  to 
manhood  at  a  period  in  our  colonial  history  unfavorable  to 
mental  culture.  There  were  very  few  schools  then  in  Virginia 
competent  to  give  a  good  English  education,  while  only  three 
or  four  colleges  had  been  founded  in  America,  and  only  one 
in  his  native  State. 

His  education,  therefore,  was  such  as  the  country  schools 
afforded,  perhaps  neither  better  nor  worse  than  was  usual 
with  those  who,  like  himself,  belonged  to  the  middle  class  of 


22  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

society.  That  he  was  not  a  classical  scholar,  nor  when  he  entered 
the  ministry  a  good  English  scholar,  we  have  no  wish  to  con- 
ceal; but  he  had  a  fair  rudimentary  education;  had  taught 
school,  had  a  quick  apprehension,  a  sound  and  discriminating 
mind,  and  such  a  refined  taste  as  gave  great  accuracy  to  his 
selection  and  use  of  words.  Combined  with  these  qualities  was 
his  ardent  desire  for  knowledge  and  his  tenacity  of  purpose 
in  the  pursuit  of  it;  and  then,  after  he  had  taken  upon  himself 
the  vows  of  the  ministry,  he  drew  "all  his  cares  and  studies 
this  way, "  being  "  diligent  in  prayers,  and  in  reading  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  in  such  studies  as  help  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  same,  laying  aside  the  study  of  the  world  and  the  flesh." 
This  concentration  of  mind  and  heart  upon  the  work  of  his 
vocation  soon  began  to  develop  his  intellectual  power. 

Nor  must  we  leave  out  of  the  account  that  element  of  all 
true  greatness,  known  as  common  sense,  which  he  possessed 
in  an  eminent  degree;  destitute  of  which,  whatever  other 
qualifications  he  might  have  had,  he  could  not  have  wielded 
the  influence  that  he  exerted  as  a  preacher  and  a  bishop.  This 
quality  of  mind  is  displayed  in  the  calm  and  just  exercise  of  the 
reasoning  powers,  in  the  skillful  adaptation  of  means  to  an  end, 
and  in  the  prudent  use  of  such  means.  It  implies  a  ready  appre- 
hension of  the  characters  of  men  and  of  the  motives  that 
actuate  them.  Its  possessors  usually  exhibit  self-reliance  and 
firmness  and  are  distinguished  for  sound  practical  views.  Call 
this  shrewdness,  good  judgment,  common  sense,  or  whatever 
else,  it  is  an  all-important  qualification  for  success  in  every 
department  of  life;  and  in  none  is  it  more  requisite  than  in  a 
Christian  minister  and  especially  in  a  bishop.  Without  it,  the 
most  splendid  talents  in  a  preacher  are  frequently  useless, 
and  sometimes  worse  than  useless;  they  but  give  notoriety  to 
his  errors,  and  thus  elevate  him  to  render  his  fall  the  more  ob- 
vious. The  history  of  many  a  brilliant  mind  furnishes  a  strik- 
ing illustration  of  the  truth  of  these  remarks.  The  comets 
which  blaze  athwart  our  field  of  vision,  attracting  for  a  while 
every  eye  and  causing  the  beautiful  constellations  to  pale  be- 
fore their  gorgeous  splendors,  soon  retire  into  obscurity  and 
leave  our  planet  to  its  former  nightly  gloom;  and  then  the  late- 
ly obscured  and  forgotten  stars  resume  their  office,  lighting 
up  the  dome  of  the  Creator's  sublime  temple  of  the  natural 
universe  with  the  sheen  of  their  thousand  lamps.  Give  me  the 
less  brilliant  but  constant  stars  in  preference  to  the  more  glar- 
ing meteor  and  the  fiery  comet. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  23 

Few  men  have  been  more  distinguished  for  sound  and  un- 
sophisticated judgment  than  Bishop  McKendree.  The  want 
of  early  advantages  threw  him  upon  his  own  resources,  induced 
self-reliance,  and  a  manly  independence  in  the  investigation 
of  truth  and  in  the  expression  of  his  convictions. 

Of  his  schoolboy  days  we  have  no  minute  account.  We  only 
know  the  boy  by  the  man.  We  confess  we  have  heard  him 
quoted  as  an  instance  of  those  who  develop  slowly  the  faculties 
which  eventually  distinguish  them  as  preachers  and  logi- 
cians, but  whose  early  pulpit  efforts  discourage  the  hopes  of 
their  friends. 

Doubtless  there  have  been  many  examples  of  this  kind; 
nor  do  we  make  any  claim  to  precocious  smartness  on  behalf 
of  Bishop  McKendree.  It  may  possibly  be  true  that  some  of 
his  friends  were  disappointed  by  his  early  performances;  yet, 
if  his  powers  developed  slowly  at  first,  it  is  certain  that  the 
rich,  ripe  fruit  at  last  appeared  in  abundance  and  continued 
to  mature  beyond  the  ordinary  term  of  human  life,  presenting  a 
result  which  heightens  our  respect  for  the  dignity  of  our  common 
nature  and  the  character  of  our  holy  religion.  But  we  are 
constrained  to  say  that  we  do  not  believe  his  early  life,  and 
especially  his  early  ministry,  evinced  a  want  of  mental  quick- 
ness. It  is  a  legend  which  may  have  comforted  many  a  lazy 
and  unpopular  young  preacher,  but,  so  far  as  can  now  be 
known,  is  without  foundation.  The  evidence  is  to  the  contrary. 
That  he  was  modest,  timid,  and  exceedingly  sensitive  and  that 
his  taste  was  in  advance  of  his  capacity  to  execute,  insomuch 
that  his  hesitation  in  selecting  words  seemed  sometimes  almost 
stammering,  we  have  no  doubt;  but  th,at  he  was  a  dull  boy  or 
an  unpromising  young  preacher,  we  resolutely  deny.  Those 
only  could  think  so  who  did  not  know  him  or  were  incompe- 
tent to  judge  him. 

The  God  of  nature  gave  him  not  only  a  quick  ana  logical 
mind,  strong  common  sense,  and  an  insatiable  thirst  for  all 
useful  knowledge,  but  so  much  of  the  imaginative  faculty  as 
enabled  him  to  array  the  vivid  conceptions  of  his  mind  in 
striking  and  appropriate  topics;  and  yet  these  powers  were  so 
balanced  by  a  keen  sense  of  the  ridiculous  and  the  sophistical, 
and  so  regulated  by  his  love  of  order,  by  an  instinctive  per- 
ception of  propriety,  and  by  an  enlightened  conscience  that 
in  his  mature  years  he  presented  as  fine  a  specimen  of  a 
gentleman,  a  Christian,  and  a  bishop  as  this  or  any  other 
country  has  ever  produced.  Such  a  character  is  the  product 


24  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  native  talent,  mental  culture,  and  divine  grace.  If  either 
be  deficient,  the  pattern  is  spoiled.  We  would  not  disparage 
the  ministry.  On  the  contrary,  we  regard  the  Protestant 
ministry  as  the  most  unselfish,  pure-minded,  and  useful  class 
of  society.  The  world  could  poorly  afford  to  do  without  them; 
and  yet  that  there  are  so  few  among  them  whose  whole  lives 
exhibit  an  elevated  and  commanding  apprehension  of  the  nature 
and  ends  of  their  vocation  is  matter  of  humiliation;  but  that 
there  are  some  who  evince  such  a  beautiful  coincidence  between 
profession  and  practice  and  such  ability  and  perseverance  in 
the  discharge  of  duty  calls  for  gratitude.  Our  Divine  Master 
raises  up  some  such  in  every  age,  as  if  to  show  of  what  our 
poor  humanity  is  capable  under  the  influence  of  his  gospel. 

His  own  account  of  himself,  as  well  as  the  statements  of 
others,  agree  in  representing  him  to  have  been  virtuous  and 
comparatively  moral.  His  parents  were  members  of  the  Church 
of  England  \  moral  in  their  deportment  and  regular  in  their  at- 
tendance upon  the  ordinances.  Of  course  the  family  was 
brought  up  under  the  religious  instructions  of  that  Church, 
which  was  then  the  prevailing  religion  of  the  Southern  colonies. 
The  standard  of  Christian  morals  was,  however,  very  low  at 
that  day;  for  when  the  clergy  were  given  to  ease,  attending 
horse  races,  balls,  wine  parties,  and  indulging  in  dancing  and 
card  playing,  it  might  be  expected  that  the  religious  training 
of  the  youth  of  the  Church  would  be  sadly  defective.  By  com- 
mon consent,  it  has  been  called  an  era  of  spiritual  darkness, 
both  in  Europe  and  America.  The  Church,  notwithstanding 
her  doctrinal  orthodoxy  and  her  boasted  beautiful  formulas, 
was  laboring  under  a  moral  paralysis.  In  vain  did  a  few  of 
her  gifted  and  truly  pious  ministers  strive  to  resuscitate  her. 
Whitefield,  the  Wesleys,  and  their  coadjutors,  with  almost 
superhuman  eloquence  and  power,  essayed  to  arouse  and 
reanimate  her;  and  although  they  accomplished  much  good 
and  laid  the  foundation  for  a  great  reformation,  yet,  as  a 
Church,  she  either  coldly  frowned  upon  these,  her  best  friends 
and  truest  sons,  or  openly  denounced  and  persecuted  them. 
Her  doors  were  everywhere  shut  against  them.  Her  clergy 
cheered  on  the  rabble,  who,  finding  their  vices  denounced  and 
their  consciences  alarmed  by  the  plain  and  fervid  appeals  of  these 
holy  men,  were  ever  ready  to  resort  to  the  most  violent  means 
for  the  purpose  of  silencing  them.  Their  solemn  protestations 
against  their  alleged  defection  toward  the  Church  and  their 
oft-repeated  assertions  of  love  to  it  and  of  their  seeking  its 


je  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  25 

reformation  in  spiritual  matters  alone  were  disregarded.  Those 
in  authority  denied  the  necessity  of  a  revival  and  contemptu- 
ously spurned  both  them  and  their  services,  and  in  the  same 
breath  with  which  they  sought  to  degrade  these  heroic  men 
of  God  they  justified  the  fashionable  follies  and  prevailing 
vices  of  the  times.  Thus  the  distinction  between  the  Church 
of  Christ  and  the  world  was  either  utterly  obliterated  or  was 
seen  only  in  the  external  observance  or  nonobservance  of  the 
ceremonies  and  sacraments.  In  morals,  the  line  of  division 
was  invisible.  Yet,  even  under  such  unfavorable  circum- 
stances, young  McKendree  was  restrained  from  gross  immor- 
alities and  preserved  a  character  for  virtue  and  morality. 

The  following  is  his  own  account  of  this  period  of  his  life: 
"I  do  not  recollect  to  have  sworn  more  than  one  profane  oath 
in  my  life,  yet,  as  far  back  as  memory  serves,  I  am  conscious 
of  the  prevalence  of  evil  passions,  of  a  heart  disposed  to  wicked- 
ness, so  that  notwithstanding  the  restraints  by  which  I  was 
kept  within  the  bounds  of  a  respectable  morality  my  heart  was 
far  from  being  right  with  God.  It  was  '  deceitful  and  desperate- 
ly wicked.'  Of  this  deplorable  state  of  things  I  became  ex- 
quisitely sensible  by  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  school 
when  I  was  a  small  boy.  For  want  of  proper  instruction,  my 
apprehension  of  God  the  Redeemer  and  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
was  very  superficial.  I  literally  'understood  as  a  child,'  and 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  child  I  yielded  to  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, refrained  from  what  appeared  to  be  wrong,  and,  as  a 
child,  endeavored  to  imitate  those  holy  men  of  God  as  set 
forth  in  the  Scriptures." 

Bishop  Soule,  from  whose  sermon  on  the  death  of  Bishop 
McKendree,  delivered  before  the  General  Conference  in  1836, 
we  quote,  adds:  "Had  these  impressions  been  cherished  by 
pious  instructors  and  by  parents  who  had  the  power  as  well 
as  the  form  of  godliness,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this 
pious  youth,  like  young  Timothy,  would  'from  a  child'  have 
'  known  the  Holy  Scriptures'  in  such  a  manner  as  to  have  be- 
come 'wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus,'  and  thereby  prepared  the  way  for  his  entering  upon  the 
arduous  duties  of  the  ministry  at  a  much  earlier  period  than 
he  did;  but  for  want  of  such  helps  and  in  consequence  of  op- 
position and  discouragement  from  those  who  should  have  taught 
him  the  way  of  righteousness  and  aided  him  to  walk  therein  at 
this  tender  age  his  impressions  were  weakened,  conscience 


26  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

became  more  inclined  to  slumber,  and  his  religious  resolutions 
were  shaken.  But  still  the  fear  of  God  did  not  forsake  him." 

It  was  about  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  that  the 
Methodist  preachers  (then  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Wesley) 
first  visited  that  section  of  Virginia  in  which  the  McKendree 
family  resided.  William  was  then  about  nineteen  years  of  age, 
possessed  of  exquisite  sensibilities  and  a  heart  all  buoyant  with 
anticipation.  The  ministry  of  the  word  was  attended  with  the 
power  of  the  Spirit,  and  many  were  convinced  that  these  were 
the  servants  of  the  Most  High  God.  The  early  religious  im- 
pressions, which  in  a  great  measure  had  become  extinguished 
in  the  mind  of  this  interesting  young  man  by  the  amusements 
of  the  world,  were  now  revived  and  strengthened.  He  "yielded 
to  conviction  and  resolved  to  lead  a  new  life. "  In  conform- 
ity with  this  resolution,  he  proposed  to  unite  with  the  Methodist 
Society  as  a  seeker  of  religion  and  was  received  on  trial;  but 
here  again  his  resolution  was  shaken;  and,  halting  by  the  way, 
he  failed  to  obtain  the  prize.  His  own  undisguised  represen- 
tation of  his  case  clearly  shows  the  danger  of  awakened  persons 
associating  with  those  companions,  however  civil  they  may 
be,  who  neither  fear  nor  love  God,  especially  before  age  and 
experience  have  fortified  the  heart. 

"But  my  attachment  to  worldly  associates,"  says  Bishop 
McKendree,  "who  were  civil  and  respectful  in  their  deport- 
ment had  grown  with  my  growth,  and  my  conviction  was  not 
accompanied  with  sufficient  firmness  to  dissolve  the  connection; 
and  their  conduct  being  accommodated  to  my  reformed  man- 
ners, I  continued  to  enjoy  the  friendship,  both  of  the  Society 
and  of  the  world,  but  in  a  very  imperfect  degree.  They  con- 
tinued to  counteract  and  impair  each  other, until  theloveof  the 
world  prevailed  and  my  relish  for  genuine  piety  departed.  I 
peaceably  retired  from  the  Society,  while  my  conduct  continued 
to  secure  their  friendship." 

The  narrative  of  Bishop  Soule  proceeds:  "In  this  situation, 
with  no  material  change  in  his  religious  state,  except  a  gradual 
decline  of  concern  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  he  continued 
for  several  years;  but  his  abiding  conviction  of  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  religion  and  his  exquisite  sensibility  to  con- 
sistency of  character  preserved  him  from  gross  immoralities 
and  prevented  a  rapid  progress  in  the  way  of  sin.  In  the  year 
1787,  he  being  about  thirty  years  of  age,  a  powerful  and  exten- 
sive revival  of  religion  commenced  in  Brunswick  Circuit,  in 
which  he  lived,  under  the  ministry  of  that  devoted  servant  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  27 

God,  the  Rev.  John  Easter.  In  the  course  of  this  year  Mr. 
Easter  added  about  twelve  hundred  members  to  the  Church. " 

This  year  (1787)  was  the  period  of  his  conversion  to  God, 
the  year  in  which  he  received  that  inward  and  spiritual  revela- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God  which  is  an  indispensable  qualification 
for  preaching  his  unsearchable  riches.  This  great  change  is 
thus  described  by  his  own  pen:  "My  convictions  were  renewed; 
they  were  deep  and  pungent.  The  great  deep  of  my  heart  was 
broken  up;  its  desperately  wicked  nature  was  disclosed  and  the 
awfully  ruinous  consequences  clearly  appeared.  My  repentance 
was  sincere.  I  was  desirous  of  salvation,  and  became  willing 
to  be  saved  upon  any  terms;  and  after  a  sore  and  sorrowful 
travail  of  three  days,  which  were  employed  in  hearing  Mr. 
Easter  and  in  fasting  and  prayer  while  that  man  of  God  was 
showing  a  large  congregation  the  way  of  salvation  by  faith  with 
a  clearness  which,  at  the  same  time,  astonished  and  encouraged 
me,  I  ventured  my  all  on  Christ.  In  a  moment  my  soul  was  de- 
livered of  a  burden  too  heavy  to  be  borne,  and  joy  instantly 
succeeded  sorrow.  For  a  short  space  of  time  I  was  fixed  in 
silent  admiration,  giving  glory  to  God  for  his  unspeakable 
goodness  to  such  an  unworthy  creature. " 

But,  alas!  although  this  change  was  great  and  glorious,  al- 
though conscious  of  sensible  comfort,  and  at  the  same  time 
enabled  to  cry,  "Abba,  Father,"  yet  his  experience  accords 
with  but  too  many  in  this,  that  the  delightful  state  of  his  emo- 
tions was  presently  succeeded  by  doubts  as  to  the  depth  and 
reality  of  the  change.  In  this  state  of  temptation  he  continued 
six  weeks;  then  a  new  and  overwhelming  blessing  removed  all 
doubt  and  assured  him  of  peace  and  pardon.  The  enemy  had 
suggested  that  it  was  presumptuous  to  believe  that  so  impor- 
tant a  work  could  be  accomplished  so  soon,  if  at  all;  and  the 
vast  interests  which  the  profession  of  religion  involve  made  him 
correspondingly  fearful  of  a  mistake  in  relation  to  it.  His  temp- 
tations were  strengthened,  doubtless,  by  the  denunciations 
which  he  often  heard  of  those  "strange  zealots,"  those  "ir- 
regular lay  preachers, "  who,  ignoring  the  doctrine  of  a  personal 
and  unbroken  succession  of  three  distinct  orders  in  the  ministry 
and  the  indispensableness  of  ordination  from  such  supposed 
monopolists  of  all  clerical  authority,  dared  to  preach  .Christ 
crucified  to  their  fellow  men;  for,  unfortunately,  there  were 
those  then,  as  now  and  as  there  were  in  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  Church,  who  were  ready  to  forbid  all  others  from 
casting  out  devils  who  "follow  not  us."  But  if  Christ,  who 


28  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

actually  did  daily  cast  out  devils,  so  pointedly  reproved  this 
prescriptive  spirit  in  the  apostles,  with  what  language  would 
he  speak  to  those  now  who  would  hinder  others  from  doing  the 
good  which  they  either  cannot  or  will  not  do?  Surely  those 
who  claim  the  exclusive  right  to  preach  and  to  save  souls  ought 
to  be  remarkably  zealous  in  their  vocation;  and  even  then,  if 
they  would  imitate  the  Master,  they  should  not  refuse  the 
cooperation  of  any  who  truly  "cast  out  devils";  for  if  they  who 
cast  them  out  in  his  name  "cannot  speak  evil"  of  Christ,  surely 
Christ's  apostles  cannot  speak  evil  of  those  who  "do  the  works 
of  Christ." 

This  revival,  which  began  under  Mr.  Easter  and  of  which 
young  McKendree  and  thousands  of  others  became  the  happy 
subjects,  was  a  novelty  to  many.  Most  of  the  clergy  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church  opposed  it  publicly  and  ridiculed  it  in  private. 
The  great  body  of  the  Church  stood  aghast  at  it.  It  was 
"wildfire,"  "self-delusion,"  or  "hypocrisy."  No  doubt  hun- 
dreds of  honest  and  conscientious  persons  thought  they  were 
doing  God  service  in  striving  to  repress  what  they  regarded  as 
a  "religious  frenzy."  In  their  estimation,  Mr.  Easter  and  all 
those  who,  like  him,  strove  to  arouse  the  torpid  consciences  of 
sinners  and  proclaimed  a  present  pardon  and  an  internal 
evidence  of  that  pardon  were  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  society 
as  well  as  heretics.  To  the  Churchman  both  the  preacher  and 
his  matter  were  offensive,  the  first  wanting  the  odor  of  suc- 
cession, the  latter,  at  the  same  time,  condemning  his  profession, 
his  experience,  and  his  practice.  To  the  honest  and  devout 
Calvinist,  having  in  his  mind  Calvin's  "horrible  decree,"  the 
earnest  offer  of  Christ's  death  and  mediation,  as  means  avail- 
able by  faith  for  the  salvation  of  all  men,  without  distinction 
and  without  reservation,  seemed  presumptuous,  if  not  profane; 
so  that,  in  whatever  else  they  disagreed,  Churchmen,  Calvin- 
ists,  and  Quakers  united  in  condemning  those  who  seemed  to 
be  "turning  the  world  upside  down."  Still  the  people  flocked 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  to  hear  them,  and  multitudes  be- 
came the  subjects  of  this  strange  work.  Their  plain,  earnest, 
and  scriptural  appeals  to  conscience;  their  solemn  and  devout 
manners;  their  disinterestedness  and  the  extraordinary  faith 
and  dauntless  moral  courage  which  Easter  and  his  associates 
exhibited,  and,  above  all,  the  wonderful  power  which  attended 
their  ministry,  were  well  calculated  to  excite  attention.  And 
they  did  excite  attention.  The  private  houses,  old-field  school- 
houses,  and  the  few  meetinghouses  where  circuit  preaching  had 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  29 

been  ordinarily  heard  were  soon  found  insufficient  to  contain 
the  immense  throngs  of  eager  listeners .  The  barns  were  resorted 
to,  but  were  soon  found  to  be  too  small.  To  the  groves,  Nature's 
own  temples,  the  crowds  repaired.  The  villages  were  emptied 
of  population;  the  mechanic  laid  aside  his  tools;  the  farmer 
stopped  his  plows  and  mounted  his  family  upon  the  horses, 
sometimes  two  and  three  upon  a  horse;  servants  and  those  who 
could  find  no  other  means  of  conveyance  started  on  foot.  The 
roads  were  crowded.  The  vicinity  of  the  place  of  worship  was 
covered  with  horses  and  vehicles,  and  thousands  gathered 
around  the  temporary  pulpit  and  held  their  breath  to  catch 
every  syllable  of  the  man  of  God. 

Mr.  Easter  was  a  man  of  great  purity  of  life,  of  a  sound 
mind  and  deep  religious  feelings,  and  what  he  clearly  appre- 
hended and  strongly  felt  he  spoke  with  the  confidence  of  one 
who  knows  he  delivers  a  message  from  God.  He  never  indulged 
in  metaphysical  discussions  and  rarely  in  doctrinal  expositions. 
His  themes  were  repentance,  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  His  preaching  was  of  the  experi- 
mental and  practical  kind,  his  manner  hortative.  Those  who 
knew  him  revered  and  loved  him.  When,  upon  such  an  oc- 
casion as  adverted  to  above,  he  arose  in  the  immense  congrega- 
tion his  appearance  and  manner  inspired  awe.  His  piercing 
black  eyes,  his  awful  earnestness,  and  his  almost  miraculous 
faith  arrested  every  hearer  and  transfixed  the  most  careless. 
His  sentences,  in  the  beginning  of  his  addresses,  were  short  and 
his  language  solemn  and  pointed.  There  was  no  mannerism 
nor  circumlocution.  He  was  full  of  his  subject  and  intent  only 
upon  the  rescue  of  sinners  from  impending  wrath.  At  once  he 
went  to  work  invoking  the  presence  and  power  of  God,  admon- 
ishing Christians  to  pray,  and  when  his  faith  was  "mighty," 
assuring  them  that  souls  would  be  converted  there  that  day. 
Then  he  would  begin  his  appeal  to  sinners.  Their  depraved  and 
guilty  condition,  their  duty,  the  necessity  for  decision,  and  the 
consequences  involved,  together  with  the  means  and  evidences 
of  pardon  and  regeneration,  were  concisely  and  overwhelming- 
ly exhibited.  His  voice  was  of  wondrous  pathos  and  power, 
now  soft  as  an  aeolian  harp  while  persuading  the  hesitating  or 
soothing  the  penitent,  anon  ringing  out  like  the  denunciations 
from  Mount  Ebal  when  successive  peals  of  curses  reverberated 
against  the  incorrigibly  impenitent;  and  then  again,  "in  lan- 
guage sweet  as  angels  use,"  whispering  to  the  believing  peni- 
tent blessings  richer  and  more  abundant  than  ever  died  away 


30  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

in  soft  and  melodious  echoes  fron  Mount  Gerizim  over  the  beau- 
tiful Valley  of  Shechem;  and  yet  his  whole  manner  was  natural 
and  unstudied.  He  would  have  despised  himself  if  he  had  felt 
conscious  that  he  was  aping  the  orator  or  seeking  aught  but  the 
salvation  of  his  hearers.  His  communion  with  God  was  too 
intimate  to  allow  any  less  serious  or  worthy  motive,  for  he.  who 
walks  closely  with  God  will  be  fearfully  earnest  while  pleading 
with  man. 

The  power  of  the  Almighty  attended  his  efforts.  The  pious 
portion  of  his  audience  sustained  him  by  their  prayers  and  rose 
with  him  in  faith  and  zeal  as  he  increased  in  fervor  and  force, 
until  the  immense  concourse,  agitated  by  the  conflicting  emo- 
tions of  consternation,  grief,  and  joy,  at  last  could  restrain 
themselves  no  longer  and  gave  vent  to  the  long-pent  but  now 
resistless  feelings  of  their  hearts.  Some  fled  with  alarm,  others 
felt  as  if  impaled,  while  many  fell  to  the  ground  as  if  stricken 
with  a  sudden  bolt  from  heaven.  Many  were  happily  converted 
while  he  was  speaking,  until  at  last  some  fresh  accession  to  the 
number  of  penitents,  or  converts,  would  so  swell  the  wave  of 
emotion  that  his  voice  would  be  drowned;  and  then  mingled 
shouts,  prayers,  and  songs  would  rise  like  the  paeans  of  victory 
and  the  wail  of  the  wounded  over  a  battle  field. 

Such  were  the  scenes  often  witnessed  in  those  days;  and  let 
others  call  it  confusion,  fanaticism,  or  whatever  they  may  please, 
I  believe  it  to  have  been  the  work  of  God  and  pray  that  such 
scenes  may  never  cease  in  the  Methodist  Church.  And  let 
all  who  revere  his  memory  recollect  that  Bishop  McKendree 
was  a  subject  of  this  glorious  work.  Surely  his  life  and  his  death 
might  be  regarded  as  a  vindication  of  such  revivals. 


CHAPTER  III 

Letter  from  W.  McKendree  to  Bishop  Asbury,  in  1803 — His  conversion 
— Entrance  on  the  ministry — Joins  the  Virginia  Conference — Misled 

by  Mr.  O'Kelly — Returns  to  the  work. 

AMONG  the  papers  of  Bishop  McKendree  is  the  following 
highly  interesting  communication.  It  appears  that  Bishop 
Asbury  had  repeatedly  urged  him  to  give  a  narrative  in  writing, 
of  the  kind,  and  it  is  addressed,  therefore,  to  him,  and  was 
written  in  1803.  As  it  was  prepared  with  some  care  and  gives 
a  more  minute  account  of  his  early  life  and  also  of  his  conver- 
sion, his  call  to  the  ministry,  and  of  a  very  interesting  incident 
of  his  life  in  connection  with  the  secession  of  the  Rev.  James 
O'Kelly  than  can  be  found  elsewhere,  the  letter  is  given  in  full. 
The  reader  will  pardon  the  repetition,  in  substance,  of  a  part 
of  the  last  chapter: 

Respected  Friend  and  Brother:  You  have  repeatedly  requested  me  to 
give  you  a  written,  circumstantial  account  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  my 
soul,  my  call  to  the  ministry,  and  some  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of 
my  life.  Until  very  lately  I  have  indulged  such  an  aversion  to  writing 
about  myself  that  I  did  not  intend  to  comply  with  your  request;  but  your 
solicitation,  having  been  seconded  by  others,  this,  together  with  a  thought 
that  my  own  soul  may  be  quickened  thereby,  first,  by  meditating  on  past 
mercies  and  blessings  while  I  call  to  mind  my  former  exercises  and  God's 
tender  mercies  and  gracious  dealings  with  my  soul;  and,  secondly,  should 
you  see  proper  to  send  it  to  the  press,  that  I  may  derive  benefit,  in  future, 
from  reading  what  the  lapse  of  time  and  trouble  might  make  me  forget, 
these  considerations  have  triumphed  over  my  natural  aversion  to  the  task. 
I  shall  therefore  attempt  a  plain  and  simple  narrative,  and  cast  it  as  my 
mite  into  the  treasury. 

It  is  now  fifteen  years  that  I  have  been  in  the  traveling  ministry,  from 
the  year  1788  to  the  present  date,  in  which  time  I  have  traveled  extensive- 
ly through  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  the  territory  west  of  the 
Ohio,  now  State  of  Ohio;  as  also  some  parts  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 

The  first  divine  impression  that  I  remember  to  have  been  under  was 
when  I  was  a  schoolboy.  By  reading  the  exercises  and  practices  of  holy 
men  as  related  in  the  Bible;  of  their  holy  lives,  prostrating  themselves  be- 
fore the  Lord,  praying  and  conversing  with  Jehovah,  and  the  Lord  God 
speaking  to  and  comforting  them,  my  soul  was  filled  with  such  a  sense  of 
his  majesty  and  goodness  as  awed  my  feelings  into  reverence.  And  I  had 
such  ideas  of  the  condition  of  those  holy  men  that  my  heart  glowed  to  be 
like  them. 

I  would  frequently  seek  solitary  places  in  the  woods,  there  fall  upon  my 


32  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

face  and  weep  freely  while  I  thought  I  was  talking  to  Jehovah.  This  practice 
I  followed  until  I  became  so  serious  that  I  was  taken  notice  of.  The  school- 
master, who  was  a  vain  man  and  boarded  at  my  father's,  and  others  began 
to  laugh  at  me  and  make  remarks,  and  finally  laughed  me  out  of  all  my 
seriousness.  I  then  heedlessly  pursued  the  pleasures  of  the  world  and  do 
not  remember  to  have  had  any  more  serious  impressions  for  several  years. 
My  own  experience  has  led  me  to  care  for  those  who  are  under  religious 
impressions  in  their  early  days.  Many  are  their  dangers;  great  is  the 
blessing  of  proper  instructors,  and  the  want  of  these  is,  in  all  probability, 
the  cause  of  much  infidelity. 

The  next  religious  impression  which  I  distinctly  recollect  was  occasioned 
by  hearing  the  following  verse  sung: 

Ye  sons  of  Adam,  vain  and  young, 
Indulge  your  hearts,  indulge  your  tongue; 
Enjoy  the  day  of  mirth,  but  know 
There  is  a  day  of  judgment  too. 

"  The  day  of  judgment "  left  an  impression  on  my  mind.  It  sunk  deeply 
into  my  thoughts  and  interrupted  my  peace  for  many  days,  but  it  gradually 
wore  away,  and  I  once  more  freely  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  youth. 

Some  time  after  the  Methodist  preachers  came  into  the  neighborhood, 
a  revival  of  religion  took  place,  my  father,  mother,  and  several  others  be- 
came professors  of  religion,  and  many  joined  the  Church.  I  was  then  deep- 
ly convinced  of  sin  and  resolved  to  set  out  and  serve  the  Lord.  For  some 
time  I  was  very  serious,  but  after  a  while  my  religious  concern  gradually 
abated,  and  I  insensibly  glided  into  the  spirit  of  the  world  and  drank  deep- 
er into  the  practice  thereof  than  I  had  ever  done  before.  In  great  com- 
passion the  Lord  still  extended  his  mercy  to  me  and  checked  my  thought- 
less career  by  a  severe  attack  of  bilious  fever.  I  was  brought  to  view  death 
as  at  the  door,  all  human  help  seemed  to  fail.  I  now  viewed  myself  as 
within  a  step  of  eternity,  and  alas,  I  was  without  God!  I  had  no  hope  of 
future  happiness!  I  was  convinced  that,  dying  as  I  was,  I  should  be 
eternally  miserable,  and,  to  complete  my  astonishment  and  wretchedness, 
I  could  not  indulge  a  hope  of  obtaining  mercy  in  that  situation.  I  con- 
sidered myself  as  one  who  had  preferred  the  service  of  the  devil  to  the  en- 
joyment of  religion  to  the  very  last,  and  now  to  ask  God  to  pardon  my 
sins  and  take  me  to  himself  when  I  could  serve  myself  no  longer  appeared 
to  be  the  most  unreasonable  thing  in  the  world. 

I  therefore  utterly  despaired  of  mercy  unless  God  should  be  graciously 
pleased  to  raise  me  up  from  my  bed  of  affliction  and  thus  grant  me  an 
opportunity  to  seek  his  face.  For  this  I  earnestly  prayed.  While  sore  be- 
labored with  pain,  the  world  appeared  insignificant  and  of  trivial  conse- 
quence; indeed,  could  I  have  purchased  peace  by  giving  the  whole  world, 
the  price  then  seemed  to  me  inconsiderable.  But  even  while  it  seemed  to 
myself  that  I  was  so  willing  to  embrace  mercy  upon  any  terms,  I  well  re- 
member a  thought  that  threw  me  into  confusion  by  showing  me  my  error. 
The  following  idea  was  suggested:  "If  the  Lord  would  raise  you  up  and 
convert  your  soul,  would  you  be  willing  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel?  "  At 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  33 

this  nature  shrunk,  will  refused,  and  I  trembled  when  I  found  myself  indis- 
posed to  prompt  obedience. 

Yet  I  continued  to  plead,  and  the  Lord  raised  me  from  the  jaws  of  death, 
"covering  the  bones  with  young  flesh."  But  alas,  how  weak  are  reso- 
lutions springing  from  fear!  As  my  strength  returned,  I  lost  sight  of  my 
danger,  and  the  resolution,  which  I  thought  was  so  firm,weakened  in  pro- 
portion. At  last  I  lost  the  desire  and  returned  to  my  old  companions  and 
the  business  of  the  world. 

In  this  situation  I  continued  until  the  great  revival  of  religion  took 
place  in  Brunswick  Circuit,  under  Mr.  John  Easter,  in  1787.  On  a  certain 
Sabbath  I  visited  a  gentleman  who  lived  in  the  neighborhood;  he  and  his 
lady  were  going  to  church  to  hear  a  Mr.  Gibson,  a  local  Methodist  preacher. 
It  was,  of  course,  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  the  church  was 
open  to  any  occupant,  the  clergy  having  abandoned  their  flocks  and  the 
country  and  fled  home  to  England.  Upon  my  going  to  the  house  of  my 
friend,  he  declined  going  to  church,  sent  a  servant  with  his  wife,  and  we 

spent  the  time  in  reading  a  comedy  and  drinking  wine.  Mrs. stayed 

late  at  church,  but  at  last,  when  we  were  impatient  for  dinner,  she  returned 
and  brought  strange  things  to  our  ears.  With  astonishment  flushing  in 
her  countenance,  she  began  to  tell  whom  she  left  "in  a  flood  of  tears," 
who  were  "  down  on  the  floor, "  who  were  "  converted, "  what  an  "uproar" 
was  goimg  on  among  the  people,  cries  for  mercy  and  shouts  for  joy,  etc. 
She  also  informed  us  that  Mr.  John  Easter  was  to  preach  at  that  place 
on  the  following  Tuesday.  My  heart  was  touched  at  her  representation. 
I  resolved  to  seek  religion,  and  began  in  good  earnest  to  pray  for  it  that 
evening. 

Tuesday  I  went  to  church,  fasting  and  praying.  Mr.  Easter  preached 
from  John  in.  19-22:  "And  this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  has 
come  into  the  world, "  etc.  The  word  reached  my  heart.  From  this  time 
I  had  no  peace  of  mind;  I  was  completely  miserable.  My  heart  was  broken 
up,  and  I  saw  that  it  was  evil  above  all  things  and  "desperately  wicked. " 
A  view  of  God's  forbearance  and  of  the  debasing  sin  of  ingratitude,  of 
which  I  had  been  guilty  in  grieving  the  Spirit  of  God,  overwhelmed  me 
with  confusion. 

Now  my  conscience  roared  like  a  lion.  "The  pains  of  hell  got  hold  of 
me."  I  concluded  that  I  had  committed  the  "unpardonable  sin"  and 
had  thoughts  of  giving  up  all  for  lost.  For  three  days  I  might  have  said: 
"  My  bed  shall  comfort  me,  then  thou  scarest  me  with  dreams,  and  terri- 
fiest  me  through  visions,  so  that  my  soul  chooseth  strangling  and  death 
rather  than  life."  (Job  vii.  7-15.)  But  in  the  evening  of  the  third  day 
deliverance  came.  While  Mr.  Easter  was  preaching,  I  was  praying  as 
well  as  I  could,  for  I  was  almost  ready  to  despair  of  mercy.  Suddenly 
doubts  and  fears  fled,  hope  sprang  up  in  my  soul,  and  the  burden  was  re- 
moved. I  knew  that  God  was  love,  that  there  was  mercy  even  for  me, 
and  I  rejoiced  in  silence. 

Mr.  Easter  confidently  asserted  that  God  had  converted  my  soul;  but 
I  did  not  believe  it,  for  I  had  formed  to  myself  an  idea  of  conversion,  how 

3 


34  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

it  would  come,  and  what  must  follow;  and  what  I  then  felt  did  not  answer 
to  my  idea.  Therefore  I  did  not  believe  that  I  was  converted,  but  I  knew 
there  was  mercy  for  me,  and  I  greatly  rejoiced  in  that.  However,  I  soon 
found  myself  in  an  uncomfortable  condition,  for  I  immediately  began  to 
seek  and  expect  a  burden  of  sin,  answerable  to  my  idea,  in  order  to  get 
converted.  But  the  burden  was  gone,  and  I  could  not  recover  it.  At 
times  I  had  flashes  of  joy,  yea,  felt  the  life  and  power  of  living  faith;  but 
as  soon  as  I  would  advert  to  my  conversion,  faith  would  fail,  hope  lan- 
guish, and  comfort  die,  because  I  doubted  my  conversion.  With  desire 
I  sought  rest,  but  I  thought  that  greater  distress  than  I  had  felt  must  pre- 
cede that  blessing,  and  therefore  refused  to  be  comforted.  And  thus,  sir, 
for  several  weeks  I  experienced  all  the  anguish  of  grasping  at  an  object 
of  the  greatest  importance,  and  missing  my  aim,  of  laying  hold  of  life  and 
salvation,  then  falling  back  into  the  vortex  of  disappointment  and  dis- 
tress, until  I  may  say  I  was  as  a  lone  "sparrow  on  the  housetop";  "my 
teeth  chattered  like  a  swallow,  my  bones  were  pierced  in  me  in  the  night 
season,  and  my  sinews  took  no  rest."  (Job  xxx.  17.) 

But  deliverance  was  at  hand.  Mr.  Easter  came  round,  and  his  Master 
came  with  him,  and  in  the  time  of  meeting  the  Lord,  who  is  merciful  and 
kind,  blessed  me  with  the  witness  of  the  Spirit;  and  then,  sir,  I  could  re- 
joice indeed,  yes,  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory! 

Within  twenty-four  hours  after  this  I  was  twice  tempted  to  think  my 
conversion  was  delusive  and  not  genuine,  because  I  did  not  receive  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit  at  the  same  time. 

But  I  instantly  applied  to  the  throne  of  grace  and,  in  the  duty  of  prayer, 
the  Lord  delivered  me  from  the  enemy,  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  have 
never  doubted  my  conversion.  I  have  pitied,  and  do  still  pity,  those  who, 
under  the  influence  of  certain  doctrines,  are  led  to  give  the  preference  to 
a  doubting  experience,  and  therefore  can  only  say,  "If  I  ever  was  convert- 
ed," "I  hope  I  am  converted,"  "I  fear  I  never  was  converted,"  etc.,  but 
can  never  say:  "We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life."  In 
this  respect,  "darkness,  in  part,  has  happened  to  Zion,"  but  I  hope  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  truth  and  religion  shall  triumph  over  error 
and  form. 

Not  long  after  I  had  confidence  in  my  acceptance  with  God,  Mr.  Gibson 
preached  us  a  sermon  on  sanctification,  and  I  felt  its  weight.  When  Mr. 
Easter  came,  he  enforced  the  same  doctrines.  This  led  me  more  minutely 
to  examine  the  emotions  of  my  heart.  I  found  remaining  corruption,  em- 
braced the  doctrine  of  sanctification,  and  diligently  sought  the  blessing  it 
holds  forth.  The  more  I  sought  the  blessing  of  sanctification,  the  more  I 
felt  the  need  of  it  and  the  more  important  did  that  blessing  appear.  In  its 
pursuit,  my  soul  grew  in  grace  and  in  the  faith  that  overcomes  the  world. 
But  there  was  an  aching  void  which  made  me  cry: 

"Tis  worse  than  death  my  God  to  love, 
And  not  my  God  alone. 

One  morning  I  walked  into  the  field,  and  while  I  was  musing  such  an 
overwhelming  power  of  the  Divine  Being  overshadowed  me  as  I  had  never 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  35 

experienced  before.  Unable  to  stand,  I  sunk  to  the  ground,  more  than 
filled  with  transport.  My  cup  ran  over,  and  I  shouted  aloud. 

Had  it  not  been  for  a  new  set  of  painful  exercises  which  now  came  upon 
me,  I  might  have  rejoiced  "evermore";  but  my  heart  was  enlarged,  and  I 
saw  more  clearly  than  ever  before  the  danger  of  an  unconverted  state.  For 
such  persons  I  prayed  with  anxious  care.  At  times,  when  called  upon  to 
pray  in  public,  my  soul  would  get  into  an  agony  and  the  Lord  would,  in 
great  compassion,  pour  out  his  Spirit;  souls  were  convicted  and  converted, 
and  Zion  rejoiced  abundantly  in  those  days.  Without  a  thought  of  preach- 
ing, I  began  to  tell  my  acquaintances  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  me  and 
could  do  for  them.  It  had  its  effect,  and  lasting  impressions  were  made. 
Thus  I  was  imperceptibly  led  on  until  the  preachers  and  people  began  to 
urge  me  to  speak  more  publicly.  This  brought  on  a  painful  affliction 
of  mind. 

While  I  have  meditated  on  the  subject  with  a  disposition  to  submit, 
if  it  was  the  will  of  the  Lord  to  call  me  to  preach,  the  Scriptures  have 
opened  to  my  mind  and  presented  me  with  such  lively  pictures  of  virtue  and 
vice,  and  their  consequences,  as  would  fill  me  with  "  painful  joy  and  pleasing 
smart";  and  I  would  be  almost  ready  to  say:  "Here  am  I,  send  me." 
But  when  I  would  reflect  on  appearing  in  public  with  the  qualifications 
which  I  possessed,  I  felt  deeply  humbled  and  greatly  discouraged.  The 
importance  of  the  cause,  and  what  it  might  suffer  from  an  incompetent 
and  an  injudicious  advocate,  made  me  fear  that  my  exercises  were  not  from 
God,  that  he  never  would  call  such  a  creature  as  I  was  to  preach  his  gospel. 
Thus  worried  and  distressed,  I  have  fallen  on  my  knees  and  with  many 
tears  begged  the  Lord  to  take  me  to  heaven  and  so  put  an  end  to  the  doubt- 
ful case.  My  mind  was  entirely  diverted  from  my  temporal  concerns 
and  wholly  devoted  to  the  subject  of  religion. 

On  a  certain  day,  as  I  sat  at  a  table,  my  father  stepped  in  and  addressed 
me  thus:  "William,  has  not  the  Lord  called  you  to  preach  the  gospel?"  I 
answered:  "I  cannot  tell;  I  do  not  know  what  a  call  to  preach  the  gospel 
implies."  He  added:  "I  believe  he  has,  and  I  charge  you  not  to  quench 
the  Spirit."  For  a  moment  I  was  as  one  thunderstruck.  We  both  shed 
tears.  I  asked  him  why  he  thought  the  Lord  had  called  me  to  preach  the 
gospel.  He  answered:  "While  you  lay  sick  of  the  fever" — alluding  to 
my  illness  already  mentioned — "when  the  doctor  and  all  your  friends 
had  given  you  up  for  lost,  I  was  greatly  afflicted  at  the  thought  of  your  dy- 
ing in  your  sins.  I  applied  myself  to  the  throne  of  grace  and  prayed  in- 
cessantly. While  I  was  on  my  knees,  the  Lord  manifested  himself  to  me 
in  an  uncommon  manner,  and  gave  me  am  assurance  that  you  should  live 
to  preach  the  gospel,  and  I  have  never  lost  my  confidence,  although  you 
have  been  too  careless. "  He  then  repeated  his  caution  not  to  quench  the 
Spirit. 

In  this  undetermined  condition  of  mind  I  continued  until  it  pleased  the 
Lord  to  lay  me  upon  a  bed  of  affliction.  Mr.  Easter  visited  me.  On  the 
next  day,  when  they  were  about  starting  to  meeting,  he  prayed  for  me,  not 
as  men  gdherally  pray,  but  in  a  manner  and  with  a  zeal  peculiar  to  himself. 


36  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Under  his  prayer  I  was  blessed;  my  soul  was  filled  with  joy.  He  proceeded 
to  tell  the  Lord  that  "the  harvest  was  great,  but  the  laborers  were  few, " 
that  I  had  been  urged  by  the  Spirit,  but  had  refused  to  obey.  He  prayed 
the  Lord  to  raise  me  up,  and  thrust  me  into  his  vineyard.  I  recovered;  and 
from  that  time  I  spoke  more  frequently  and  freely  in  public,  and  the  Lord 
condescended  to  encourage  me  by  blessing  both  my  hearers  and  myself. 

In  the  ninth  month  after  I  received  the  witness  of  my  acceptance,  the 
District  Conference  came  on.  It  was  held  in  Petersburg,  Va.  Mr.  Easter 
requested  me  to  fix  myself  and  attend  the  Conference.  I  did  so,  and  he 
kindly  took  me  to  his  lodging.  Upon  his  going  to  the  Conference  room, 
he  invited  me  to  come  up  at  a  certain  hour  and  see  the  preachers.  I  went 
accordingly,  and  the  first  thing  after  prayer  was  to  read  out  the  preachers' 
stations;  and  you  announced  that  I  was  appointed  to  Mecklenburg  Circuit, 
with  Philip  Cox. 

This,  I  confess  sir,  was  an  unexpected  shock;  but  your  gentle  manner 
of  proceeding  with  the  young  preachers  presently  restored  me  to  a  degree 
of  ease.  When  dismissed,  I  was  walking  in  another  room  when  my  presid- 
ing elder  came  in  and,  discovering  my  agitation,  took  me  in  his  arms  and 
said:  "While  you  were  standing  before  the  Conference,  I  believe  God 
showed  me  that  he  had  a  work  for  you  to  do,"  and  repeated,  "Don't  de- 
ceive me,"  in  the  most  feeling  manner.  This,  sir,  had  the  most  happy 
effect.  It  determined  my  unsettled  mind.  I  only  wanted  to  know  what 
was  right  to  do  it  as  well  as  I  could.  I  had  the  fullest  confidence  in  the 
preachers,  and  in  reflecting  upon  the  character  and  judgment  of  those 
who  had  recommended  me  and  of  the  Conference  who  had  admitted  me, 
strengthened  by  what  the  presiding  elder  with  flowing  tears  had  just  said 
to  me,  I  resolved  to  reject  my  doubts,  submit  to  their  judgment,  take  the 
work  to  which  I  was  appointed,  and  fill  my  place  as  well  as  I  could.  Thus 
for  more  than  eight  months  of  painful  suspense  my  heart  was  "fixed," 
and  I  set  out  for  my  circuit. 

But  before  I  enter  upon  the  ensuing  part  of  my  own  history,  suffer  me 
to  make  some  observations  on  what  I  have  witnessed  respecting  my  much 
loved  friend  and  father  in  the  gospel,  John  Easter. 

When  Mr.  Easter  came  to  Brunswick  Circuit,  there  was  very  little  ap- 
pearance of  religion  in  our  neighborhood.  Upon  his  coming,  a  revival 
took  place,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
joined  the  Church  within  ten  miles  of  where  we  resided,  and  about  eighteen 
hundred  were  added  in  the  circuit.1  Mr.  Easter  possessed  an  uncommon 

'Bishop  McKendree  leaves  the  number  blank,  and  it  is  filled  from  the  following  authority: 

"The  year  1787  is  gratefully  remembered  in  the  Methodist  history  of  Virginia  for  the  most 
extensive  and  glorious  revival  of  religion  that  ever  occurred  in  the  State."  "The  accounts  which 
have  come  down  to  us  of  that  powerful  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  represent  it  as  almost  miracu- 
lous." "But  although  the  work  of  the  Lord  was  generally  revived,  its  most  powerful  manifesta- 
tions seem  to  have  been  .on  fined  to  the  district  over  which  the  Rev.  James  O'Kelly  presided, 
and  in  this  district  the  most  powerful  displays  of  spiritual  influence  were  witnessed  in  the  Bruns- 
wick, Sussex,  and  Amelia  Circuits.  In  each  of  these  circuits  great  multitudes  were  turned  to  the 
Lord.  In  Sussex  Circuit  about  sixteen  hundred  were  converted;  in  Brunswick,  about  eighteen 
hundred;  and  in  Amelia,  about  eight  hundred." — Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  pp.  t04, 
MS;  alto,  History  of  tht  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by  Dr.  Bangs,  Vol.  I,  pp.  i6S-S67. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  37 

degree  of  faith.  It  was  objected  to  him  that  "instead  of  praying,  he  com- 
manded God,  as  if  the  Lord  was  to  obey  man."  The  following  is  a  speci- 
men of  what  I  was  an  eyewitness.  While  preaching  to  a  large  concourse 
of  people  in  the  open  air,  at  a  time  of  considerable  drought,  it  began  to 
thunder,  a  cloud  approached,  and  drops  of  rain  fell.  He  stopped  preach- 
ing and  besought  the  Lord  to  withhold  the  rain  until  evening,  to  pour 
out  his  Spirit,  convert  the  people,  and  then  water  the  earth.  He  then 
resumed  his  subject.  The  appearance  of  rain  increased,  the  people 
began  to  get  uneasy,  some  moved  to  take  off  their  saddles;  when,  in  his 
peculiar  manner,  he  told  the  Lord  that  there  were  "sinners  there  that  must 
be  converted  or  be  damned,"  and  prayed  that  he  would  "stop  the  bottles 
of  heaven  until  the  evening."  He  closed  his  prayer  and  assured  us  in  the 
most  confident  manner  that  we  might  keep  our  seats,  that  it  would  not 
rain  to  wet  us;  that  "souls  are  to  be  converted  here  to-day,  my  God  assures 
me  of  it,  and  you  may  believe  it."  The  congregation  became  composed, 
and  we  did  not  get  wet;  for  the  clouds  parted,  and  although  there  was  a 
fine  rain  on  both  sides  of  us,  there  was  none  where  we  were  until  night. 
The  Lord's  Spirit  was  poured  out  in  an  uncommon  degree,  many  were 
convicted,  and  a  considerable  number  professed  to  be  converted  that  day. 
Mr.  Easter  excited  great  attention.  Hundreds,  and  sometimes  thou- 
sands, attended  his  appointments.  Frequently  while  he  was  preaching 
the  foundations  of  the  place  would  seem  to  be  shaken  and  the  people  to 
be  moved  like  the  trees  of  the  forest  when  shaken  by  a  mighty  tempest. 
Many  were  "the  slain  of  the  Lord, "  and  many  were  made  spiritually  alive. 
If  my  memory  serves  me,  four  hundred  were  converted  at  a  four  days' 
meeting.  But  Satan's  kingdom  did  not  suffer  this  loss  without  a  struggle. 
Powerful,  and  sometimes  fierce,  was  the  opposition  Mr.  Easter  had  to  con- 
tend with;  but  the  Lord  gave  him  grace  according  to  his  day.  In  the  midst 
of  a  congregation,  a  man  stepped  to  Mr.  Easter,  caught  him  by  the  bosom, 
and  raised  a  horsewhip  over  his  head.  In  that  position,  a  few  words 
passed  between  them.  Mr.  Easter  began  to  pray,  but  when  his  prayer  was 
ended  his  antagonist  was  gone.  Mr.  Easter. proceeded  with  his  meeting 
without  further  interruption. 

On  another  occasion  he  reproved  a  man  who  was  at  a  few  yards'  dis- 
tance on  an  elevated  seat  in  the  congregation.  The  man,  as  afterwards 
appeared,  had  covenanted  to  abuse  the  preacher,  and  for  this  purpose 
had  armed  himself  with  a  club,  which  he  shook  at  the  preacher.  Another 
and  a  sharper  reproof  followed.  The  enraged  man  approached  Mr.  Easter, 
brandishing  his  weapon,  with  vengeance  flashing  in  his  countenance.  The 
preacher  calmly  said,  "I  regard  the  spilling  of  my  blood  for  the  sake  of 
Christ  no  more  than  the  bite  of  a  fly, "  but  warned  the  furious  man  of  the 
most  awful  consequences  on  his  own  part.  The  man  was  near  enough  to 
strike  him,  but  Mr.  Easter  dared  him  to  strike,  telling  him  what  God 
would  do  if  he  laid  the  weight  of  his  hand  upon  him.  The  man's  coun- 
tenance changed,  he  presently  turned  round  and  walked  off.  "I  tcld  you 
the  devil  is  a  coward,"  said  Mr.  Easter,  as  the  crestfallen  man  withdrew. 


38  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

These,  sir,  may  serve  as  specimens  of  the  displays  of  divine  power  which 
attended  the  ministry  of  that  dear  friend  of  ours. 

In  1788  I  was  appointed  to  Mecklenburg  Circuit.  This  was  a  fortunate 
station  for  me.  Mr.  Cox,  with  whom  I  was  appointed  to  travel,  was  an 
instructor  and  father  to  me.  The  old  professors  knew  how  to  sympa- 
thize with  young  preachers.  It  looked  to  me  like  they  wished  to  bear  a 
part  of  the  cross  for  me.  In  this  circuit  there  were  many  deeply  expe- 
rienced Christians,  by  whose  walk  and  conversation  I  profited  much.  I 
hope  I  shall  never  forget  how  sweetly  they  used  to  talk  of  the  triumphs 
of  grace  and  the  love  of  Jesus.  After  a  sufficient  trial,  I  expected 
the  preachers  would  be  convinced  that  I  never  would  make  a  profitable 
preacher,  that  I  should  by  that  means  return  to  the  comforts  which  I  had 
left  behind.  But  the  year  rolled  round,  and  I  was  "continued  on  trial." 
The  dear  people  seemed  unwilling  to  part  with  me,  for  we  had  spent  some 
sweet  moments  together. 

In  1789  I  took  my  station  in  Cumberland  Circuit,  Virginia,  where 
I  traveled  part  of  the  year,  and  then  was  moved  by  the  presiding  elder 
to  Mecklenburg,  an  adjoining  circuit,  where  I  traveled  the  year  before. 

During  this  year  my  doubts  with  regard  to  my  call  to  the  ministry 
subsided  in  a  great  measure.  I  began  to  enjoy  a  tolerable  degree  of  com- 
fort in  my  calling.  The  members  of  the  Church  were  very  kind,  and  we 
saw,  in  some  degree,  the  fruit  of  our  labor.  The  old  members  were  quick- 
ened and  new  ones  added. 

But  a  painful  affliction  of  another  nature  arose.  A  divisive  spirit  began 
to  torment  us.  Methodism  had  progressed  beyond  all  expectation.  The 
few  Church  regulations  which  were  adapted  to  the  infant  state  of  the 
Church  would  by  no  means  cover  all  the  cases  that  a  rapid  increase  of 
preachers  and  people  brought  forth.  The  year  before,  a  delegated  number 
had  been  appointed  to  form  regulations  to  meet  our  present  difficulties.1 
They  had  met.  Our  presiding  elder  (James  O'Kelly)  was  one  of  the  num- 
ber. And  they  had  unanimously  agreed  to  a  plan  which  was  to  be  laid 
before  the  Conferences  of  the  year  to  be  adopted  or  rejected.  But  before 
the  Conference  came  on,  Mr.  O'Kelly  changed  his  mind  and  began,  in 
our  private  interviews,  to  inform  me  of  the  imminent  danger  of  near- 
approaching  ruin  which  our  then  flourishing  Church  would  in  all  proba- 
bility suffer;  that  this  mischief  had  itself  a  cause,  which,  according  to  un- 
equivocal indications,  was  the  want  of  religion  in  a  party  of  leading  charac- 
ters in  the  ministry,  yourself,  sir,  at  the  head  of  them,  whose  unbounded 
thirst  for  power  and  money,  as  I  understood  him,  was  to  pull  down  de- 
struction on  the  Church  of  God. 

I  then  had,  and  still  have,  a  tender  regard  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion, 
and  watched  whatever  I  thought  would  injure  her  with  a  jealous  eye.  I 
examined  what  our  delegates  had  done,  and  formed  the  best  judgment 
I  could,  according  to  my  information,  and  disapproved  of  the  plan.  This 
gave  weight  to  the  private  representation  of  my  presiding  elder. 

lTh«  Council. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  39 

On  my  way  to  the  Conference  in  Petersburg,  I  fell  in  company  with 
him  and  several  other  preachers,  who  held  a  consultation  on  the  way  and 
also  after  we  reached  town,  and  pretty  well  determined  the  business  before 
it  came  up  for  action  in  the  Conference.  However,  you  arrived  and  laid 
that  business  before  us.  The  result  was,  as  you  very  well  know,  we  re- 
jected it  altogether  and  refused  to  adopt  any  accommodating  plan. 

But  I  was  somewhat  disappointed;  for,  instead  of  breaking  out  like  a 
tyrant,  you  proposed  us  all  for  deacon's  orders.  We  elected  each  other, 
and  the  greater  number  of  the  preachers  of  that  district  were  ordained 
to  the  office  of  deacon  and  appointed  to  the  several  circuits,  with  our  former 
presiding  elder  at  our  head,  on  the  south  side  of  James  River. 

In  1790  I  was  appointed  to  travel  with  Jesse  Nicholson  on  Portsmouth 
Circuit,  but  was  removed  and  spent  the  latter  part  of  the  year  with 
William  Spencer  on  Surry  Circuit.  This  was  a  year  of  much  comfort 
to  my  soul.  I  found  an  affectionate  people  indeed;  many  were  deeply  ex- 
perienced saints,  who  were  a  blessing  to  me.  "As  iron  sharpeneth  iron," 
so  did  the  conversation  of  those  brethren  provoke  me  to  love  and  good 
works.  I  found  father,  mother,  brother,  and  sister  indeed  and  in  truth. 
It  was  my  meat  and  drink  to  employ  my  spare  moments  in  study.  Fast- 
ing and  prayer  was  a  pleasure.  I  had  an  almost  uninterrupted  heaven 
below.  The  work  of  the  Lord  prospered  in  our  hands,  particularly  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  year.  A  considerable  number  of  members  was  added 
to  the  societies.  When  elders  rule  well,  they  are  to  be  counted  worthy 
of  double  honor  and  esteemed  very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake. 
But  alas,  my  greatest  affliction  in  those  days  came  from  where  I  ought 
to  have  had  comfort!  When  my  old  friend  (Mr.  O'K.)  visited  us,  much 
of  the  spare  time  was  taken  up  in  private  communication  and  consulta- 
tion, the  subject  matter  of  which  was  "the  manners  of  a  party  which 
more  and  more  manifested  the  badness  of  their  pol  cy  and  principles,  and 
must,"  as  he  said,  "sooner  or  later  inevitably  ruin  the  Church  of  Godr" 
The  result  was  a  proclamation  summoning  all  the  preachers  to  meet  in 
Mecklenburg  on  a  certain  day. 

It  was  in  the  interval  of  Conference  and  was  a  new  thing  among  us;  but 
the  occasion  was  thought  to  be  of  such  importance  as  to  justify  it.  We 
met  according  to  order  and  formed  a  council.  Our  elder  told  us  much. 
He  met  with  some  opposition,  but  this  gave  much  pain.  A  conclusion  was 
formed  in  opposition  to  the  offensive  "  party,"  and  our  old  friend  thought 
the  preachers  left  much  united,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  who  were 
supposed  to  be  "creatures  of  the  party."  Our  demand  was  a  General 
Conference. 

I  really  loved  God  and  sought  the  welfare  of  his  Church  and  was  there- 
fore disposed  to  listen  to  her  complaints.  The  old  gentleman  (Mr.  O'K.) 
I  looked  upon  as  her  friend,  her  mouth,  and  so  great  was  my  confidence 
in  him  that  his  word  was  next  to  gospel  with  me.  I  heard  him,  and  be- 
lieved what  I  heard.  Upon  hearing  one  side  of  the  story  only,  so  far  as  I 
received  the  report,  I  had  to  give  up  my  confidence  in  the  "  party  preach- 
ers," or  the  "bishop  and  his  creatures,"  as  they  were  called. 


40  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Perhaps  you  may  remember  that  about  this  time  I  informed  you  that  I 
had  lost  confidence  in  yourself.  At  least,  I  shall  never  forget  your  answer, 
which  was:  "I  do  not  wonder  at  that,  brother;  sometimes  we  can  see  with 
our  eyes,  sometimes  we  can  see  only  with  our  ears." 

But,  alas!  with  the  loss  of  confidence,  I  began  insensibly  to  lose  my  love 
for  "the  bishop  and  his  creatures,"  in  reality,  my  best  friends,  misrepre- 
sented, which  prepares  the  way  and  leads  into  the  worst  of  miseries.  And 
this,  sir,  I  conceive  to  be  one  of  the  broadest,  foulest  blots  of  the  schismatic 
spirit.  For  "  God  is  love,  and  whoso  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and 
God  in  him."  And  "by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples, 
because  ye  love  one  another."  But  love  began  to  fail. 

At  the  next  Conference  (1791)  I  was  stationed  on  Amelia  Circuit.  Here, 
as  well  as  I  remember,  our  Conference  was  changed  from  the  spring,  and 
the  next  was  appointed  to  meet  on  Christmas  holiday.  I  have  nothing  of 
particular  importance  to  remark  on  this  station.  I  enjoyed  peace  of  mind 
and  comfortable  fellowship  with  those  among  whom  I  kbored.  We  began 
to  have  some  hope  of  a  General  Conference  to  adjust  our  conflicting  opin- 
ions, and  our  fears  began  to  subside. 

December,  1791. — Conference  met  at  Lane's  Chapel.  Peace  seemed  to 
gladden  our  hearts.  We  were  informed  that  a  General  Conference  was  to 
meet  the  following  November,  that  differences  were  adjusted,  and  our  old 
friend  was  satisfied. 

I  expect  you  have  not  forgotten  the  joy  that  appeared  in  the  Confer- 
ence among  the  young  preachers.  Here  I  was  ordained  to  the  office  of  an 
elder  and  appointed  to  Greenville  Circuit,  which  went  through  my  old 
neighborhood.  This  was  the  first  station  that  I  felt  my  will  opposed  to. 
It  fixed  me  in  the  midst  of  my  old  acquaintances,  many  of  whom  were  in 
our  societies  before  me  and  considered  themselves  my  superiors.  It  was 
a  sifting  time  in  those  parts,  and  I  expected  some  of  them  would  have  to  be 
excluded.  This  I  feared  they  would  not  bear  from  me,  which  was  the 
cause  of  my  unwillingness  to  go  to  that  circuit.  But  in  this  I  was  disap- 
pointed. I  believe  I  never  went  through  the  buisness  of  a  circuit  with  more 
ease.  Although  many  were  turned  out,  there  were  no  fixed  prejudices  in 
consequence  of  the  administration,  that  I  know  of.  True,  we  had  but  few 
additions  to  the  Church  this  year,  yet  we  had  many  sweet  and  precious 
meetings.  The  work  of  sanctification  revived.  While  I  was  preaching 
from  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth,  thy  word  is  truth,"  a  local  preach- 
er cried  aloud  for  the  blessing.  When  I  came  to  that  place  again,  he  pro- 
fessed to  be  sanctified  and  zealously  and  profitably  enforced  the  doctrine. 
I  went  home  with  him  from  meeting.  He  conversed  of  death  as  a  thing 
familiar  and  at  hand.  He  professed  to  have  only  one  wish,  which  was 
that  he  might  be  favored  with  a  quick  passage  from  this  to  the  other 
world.  He  was  a  smith  by  trade.  I  parted  with  him  to  see  him  no  more. 
Before  I  returned  again,  he  was  killed  by  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the  pres- 
ence of  several  persons  while  standing  over  his  fire.  Thus  the  Lord  granted 
his  desire  and  took  him  to  rest. 

Happily  disappointed  in  my  expected  troubles  on  this  circuit,  blessed 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  41 

with  refreshing  showers  of  grace,  and,  as  I  thought,  with  peace  among  our- 
selves, our  old  friend  came  round.  Our  hearts  were  glad  at  the  sight. 
But  instead  of  confirming  the  peace  we  were  told  of  at  the  last  Conference 
and  training  me  up  in  the  way  I  ought  to  go,  alas!  the  old  subject  was  in- 
troduced, and  I  was  informed  that  you  were  not  sincere  in  the  peace  con- 
cluded; that  it  was  a  political  contrivance,  the  real  design  being  to  gratify 
your  ambition  by  a  method  which  was  to  ruin  the  Church.  I  was  unfortu- 
nate enough  to  believe  the  report,  and  from  this  time  counteracting  meas- 
ures were  consulted. 

In  November,  1792,  the  General  Conference  came  on.  Soon  after  I 
left  my  circuit  to  attend  it,  I  fell  in  company  with  our  elder  and  one  or  two 
others.  At  Colonel  Clayton's  the  number  increased.  William  Spencer 
and  S.  Cowles  were  sent  forward,  only  two  were  permitted  to  continue  in 
company  with  the  elder.  I  was  one  of  the  favored  number.  We  arrived 
at  the  seat  of  the  General  Conference  and  were  appointed  to  lodge  to- 
gether. Conference  commenced.  Division  of  sentiment  indeed!  Our 
lodging  room  was  a  council  chamber.  Evil  was  determined  against  the 
connection,  justified  by  the  supposition  that  the  bishop  and  his  creatures 
were  working  the  ruin  of  the  Church  to  gratify  their  pride  and  ambition. 

The  old  gentlemen  broke  off.  I  and  some  others  obtained  liberty  of  the 
Conference  to  return  home  and  set  out  for  Virginia.  We  had  many  con- 
sultations, were  often  confused  in  our  deliberations,  and,  the  rest  of  the 
company  having  left  us,  the  old  gentleman  and  myself  traveled  the  great- 
er part  of  the  way  together.  He  unfolded  his  plan.  It  was  to  be  "a 
glorious  Church,"  "no  slavery,"  etc. 

But  it  was  founded  upon  the  supposition  that  a  ruinous  government  was 
being  introduced  by  the  revolutionizing  Conference  he  had  left.  The 
supposed  design  of  the  bishop  answered  to  the  root,  and  the  more  ingenious 
of  our  cabinet  discovered  the  trunk  and  all  the  branches  of  this  tree.  It 
was  "dark,"  it  was  "popery!"  It  was  a  horrible  thing! 

But  different  conclusions  followed.  One  S.  D.  resolved  to  attend  the 
approaching  District  Conference  and  take  his  station.  Three  broke  off 
from  the  connection  and  set  up  in  opposition  to  it.  Neither  of  these 
methods  would  satisfy  me.  I  therefore  refused  to  take  a  regular  station  at 
Conference,  because  I  expected  to  reject  the  "monstrous  system"  when 
it  should  appear,  but  met  you  and  the  presiding  elder  a  few  days  after 
Conference  and  took  a  station. 

I  was  stationed  in  the  city  of  Norfolk;  and  0  how  was  I  surprised,  in 
the  course  of  the  year,  to  find  the  form  of  discipline  entirely  different  from 
what  I  had  expected  and  also  to  find  just  cause  to  begin  to  withdraw  my 
confidence  from  my  old  and  best-beloved  friend!  Now  I  began  to  feel 
like  one  out  at  sea  without  a  compass.  Urged  by  my  professed  friend  to 
leave  my  station  and  not  appear  at  Conference  and  shot  at  by  some  of  my 
real  but  injudicious  friends,  my  condition  was  delicate  and  unpleasant. 
But  Ira  Ellis,  my  presiding  elder,  was  a  comfort  to  me.  From  him  I  ob- 
tained information  and  counsel  which  were  of  inestimable  value  to  me  in 


42  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

my  dilemma.    In  fine,  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  Church  is  much  indebted  to 
Infinite  Goodness  for  a  man  of  his  wisdom  and  prudence  at  that  day. 

On  this  critical  station  the  Lord  was  singularly  good  to  me.  In  the 
midst  of  my  confusion  I  had  access  to  the  throne  of  grace  and  was  enabled 
to  preach.  Mercy  and  power  attended  the  Word,  and  the  people  were 
blessed;  so  that  I  had  refreshing  cordials  in  the  midst  of  many  bitter 
draughts.  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Mr.  McKendree  joins  the  Virginia  Conference,  1787 — Appointed  to 
Mecklenburg  Circuit — Burchett,  Massie,  Valentine  Cook,  and  John 
McGee  admitted  the  same  time — Numbers  in  Society — Conference  of 
1789 — Cumberland  Circuit — Conference  of  1790 — Ordained  deacon — 
The  Council  a  failure — Appointed  to  Portsmouth  Circuit— Rev.  D. 
Jarratt — Extracts  from  Diary. 

EVERY  genuine  conversion  to  God  is  characterized  by  love  to 
God  and  man;  and  as  the  first  leads  to  adoration  and  filial 
obedience  to  the  divine  will,  so  the  second  induces  an  earnest 
desire  for  the  welfare  of  others  and  efforts  to  do  them  good. 
They  are  at  once  the  evidence  of  Christian  experience  and  the 
guarantee  of  practical  goodness.  The  demonstration  of  their 
existence  and  of  their  divine  origin  is  seen  in  the  purity  of  the 
lives  of  those  who  profess  conversion,  for  "every  man  that  hath 
this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure."  These 
traits  of  regeneration  were  exhibited  by  young  McKendree. 
In  the  artless  narrative  given  from  his  own  pen,  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  we  have  had  portrayed  his  conviction,  conversion, 
and  sanctification.  Shortly  after  his  profession  of  religion,  he 
began  to  converse  with  his  friends  and  associates,  telling  them 
what  God  had  done  for  his  soul  and  persuading  them  to  come  to 
Christ.  He  could  not  be  silent  or  idle.  Christ  was  so  precious, 
religion  so  important,  and  sin  so  ruinous,  he  must  speak  and 
work.  Fealty  to  God  and  duty  to  his  neighbor  demanded  it. 
Soon  he  was  found  taking  part  in  the  public  religious  exercises, 
such  as  prayer  meetings,  love  feasts,  and  class  meetings.  Fruits 
of  his  labors  began  to  appear;  many  were  convicted  and  con- 
verted. Presently  his  mind  became  painfully  excited  upon  the 
subject  of  preaching;  and  the  fact  that  many  of  his  most  devoted 
and  intelligent  friends,  both  in  the  laity  and  among  the  preach- 
ers, believed  he  was  called  of  God  to  the  ministry,  increased  this 
excitement.  Mr.  Easter,  his  spiritual  father,  fully  concurred 
in  this  sentiment  and  urged  him  to  go  with  him  around  the  cir- 
cuit. He  yielded  and  started,  but  became  so  increasingly 
fearful  lest  he  should  go  without  the  divine  warrant  for  his  mis- 
sion that  he  gave  way  to  his  fears  and  returned  home  before  the 
round  was  completed.  Deeply  did  he  love  the  cause  of  God,  but 
so  humble  were  his  views  of  his  fitness  for  the  holy  office,  that  he 
shrunk  from  it.  He  had  been  taught  to  associate  a  classical 


44  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

education  and  a  theological  training  with  the  exercise  of  the 
ministry.    He  had  only  an  English  education. 

And  then  the  responsibilities  of  the  ministry  were  alarming  to 
his  sensitive  and  modest  mind.  Afraid  to  go  forward,  and  yet 
dreading  the  result  of  refusing  to  do  so,  he  was,  to  use  his  own 
language,  "tossed  to  and  fro."  While  in  this  distressed  state 
of  mind,  the  Virginia  Conference  came  on,  and,  unable  to  at- 
tend to  business  on  account  of  the  anguish  of  his  spirit,  he  went 
to  Petersburg,  the  seat  of  the  Conference.  He  had  been  con- 
verted only  about  nine  months  and  had  no  formal  recom- 
mendation. The  preachers  and  presiding  elder,  who  knew  him 
well,  recommended  him  for  admission  on  trial  in  the  itinerant 
work.  The  Conference  session  was  held  with  closed  doors,  and 
he  seems  not  to  have  been  aware  of  the  result.  At  the  close  of 
the  Conference,  the  doors  were  thrown  open  and  visitors  entered 
the  room,  he  among  the  rest.  Bishop  Asbury,  after  his  usual 
concise  and  solemn  address  to  the  preachers,  proceeded  to  read 
out  the  appointments,  and  William  McKendree  was  announced 
for  Mecklenburg  Circuit.  This  was  certainly  a  summary 
process,  for  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  either  been  recom- 
mended to  the  Conference  by  the  society  or  licensed  as  a  local 
preacher.  And  as  he  never  located,  he  never  was  a  local 
preacher. 

After  a  severe  mental  struggle,  and  with  many  misgivings  as 
to  his  call  and  fitness  for  the  work,  he  determined  to  undertake 
it;  and  having  resolved  to  make  the  attempt,  with  an  humble 
and  trembling  heart  he  entered  at  once  upon  its  duties.  His 
name  therefore  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the  General  Minutes 
as  having  been  "received  on  trial"  in  the  Virginia  Conference 
in  1788.  The  following  is  his  own  statement  of  his  feelings  at 
this  period : 

I  went  immediately  to  the  circuit  to  which  I  was  appointed,  relying 
more  upon  the  judgment  of  experienced  ministers  in  whom  I  confided 
than  in  any  clear  convictions  of  my  call  to  the  work;  and  when  I  yielded 
to  their  judgment,  I  determined  not  to  deceive  them,  but  to  retire  so  soon 
as  I  should  be  convinced  that  I  was  not  called  of  God,  and  to  conduct  my- 
self in  such  a  manner  that,  if  I  failed,  my  friends  might  be  satisfied  it  was 
not  for  want  of  effort  on  my  part,  but  that  their  judgment  was  not  well 
founded.  This  resolution  supported  me  under  many  doubts  and  fears,  for 
entering  upon  the  work  of  a  traveling  preacher  neither  removed  my 
doubts  nor  the  difficulties  that  attended  my  labors.  Sustained  by  a 
resolution  to  make  a  full  trial,  I  resorted  to  fasting  and  prayer  and  waited 
for  the  kind  friends  who  had  charge  of  me  to  dismiss  me  from  the  work. 
But  I  wailed  in  vain.  In  this  state  of  suspense  my  reasoning  might  have 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  45 

terminated  in  discouraging  and  ruinous  conclusions  had  I  not  been  com- 
forted and  sustained  by  the  manner  my  aged  and  experienced  brethren 
received  me,  by  the  manifest  presence  of  God  in  our  meetings,  and  by 
communion  with  my  Saviour  in  private  devotion.  In  this  way  I  became 
satisfied,  at  last,  of  my  call  to  the  ministry,  and  that  I  was  moving  in  the 
line  of  duty. 

The  Rev.  M.  Thrift,  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  among  several  inci- 
dents in  the  life  of  Mr.  McKendree,  with  which  he  has  kindly 
favored  the  writer,  gives  the  following  facts:  "The  first  sermon 
ever  preached  by  him  was  at  the  house  of  Robert  Venable,  in 
the  county  of  Prince  Edward.  During  his  first  year's  labor,  he 
was  much  depressed  in  spirits  and  was  on  the  point  of  relin- 
quishing his  work  as  an  itinerant,  but  his  friends,  and  especially 
the  Venables,  encouraged  him  to  go  on.  He  was  greatly  be- 
loved wherever  he  labored.  One  great  cause  why  he  obtained 
such  a  firm  hold  upon  the  affections  of  the  people  was  his  mild 
and  conciliating  manners." 

James  0' Kelly  was  his  first  presiding  elder,  and  Philip  Cox, 
who  had  charge  of  the  circuit,  was  his  first  colleague.  Mr. 
Cox  seems  to  have  been  an  excellent  man  and  proved  a  great 
blessing  to  his  less  experienced  associate.  His  piety,  prudence, 
amiability,  and  perseverance  were  of  inestimable  importance  in 
forming  the  habits  and  molding  the  character  of  his  junior 
brother.  He  was  fortunate  also  in  having  his  first  year's  work 
among  such  a  community  as  he  found  on  Mecklenburg  Circuit. 

The  prominent  members  of  the  Church  sympathized  with 
him,  esteemed  him  highly,  and  sustained  him  by  their  counsels 
and  their  prayers.  His  fears  and  doubts  began  gradually  to 
subside.  The  conviction  deepened  in  his  mind  that  to  preach 
the  gospel  was  essential  to  his  own  happiness,  and  as  he  was 
constrained  to  believe  that  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  the 
blessing  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  souls  his  feelings  became 
much  relieved  as  to  his  duty  before  the  year  closed. 

The  whole  number  of  Methodists  in  America  when  Mr.  Mc- 
Kendree joined  them,  white  and  colored,  was  only  about 
twenty-five  thousand.  The  following  year  (1788)  added  fifty 
per  cent  to  this  number,  giving  the  result  of  the  glorious  revival 
in  Virginia.  The  number  of  preachers  increased  nearly  in  the 
same  proportion ;  forty-eight  were  admitted  on  trial  at  this  Con- 
ference. 

His  first  year's  work  closed.  God  had  been  with  him,  and  his 
charge  was  reluctant  to  part  with  him.  The  agony  of  his  mind 
was  subsiding,  the  clouds  were  beginning  to  give  place  to  sun- 


46  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

shine,  and  his  heart  was  becoming  satisfied  to  work,  and,  if  need 
be,  to  suffer  and  die  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

Among  the  number  admitted  on  trial  with  Mr.  McKendree 
at  the  Conference  in  1788  were  Henry  Burchett,  Peter  Massie, 
Valentine  Cook,  and  John  McGee,  all  of  whom,  like  himself, 
were,  in  after  years,  laborers  in  the  West.  The  first  two,  after 
having  toiled  and  suffered  for  a  few  years  in  the  western  fron- 
tiers, died  in  the  work,  and  died  in  great  peace.  The  remains  of 
the  first  repose  in  an  old  graveyard,  overgrown  with  briars  and 
bushes,  in  the  midst  of  a  large  field  about  three  miles  below 
Nashville,  Tenn.  Some  kind  hand  erected  a  simple  tombstone 
and  inscribed  it  with  his  initials.  His  biography  says  of  him, 
and  it  is  among  the  earliest  found  in  the  Minutes:  "He  was  a 
gracious,  happy,  useful  man,  who  freely  offered  himself  for 
four  years'  service  on  the  dangerous  stations  of  Kentucky  and 
Cumberland.  He  was  one  among  the  worthies  who  freely  left 
ease,  safety,  and  prosperity  to  seek  after  and  suffer  faithfully 
for  souls.  His  meekness,  love,  labors,  prayers,  tears,  sermons, 
and  exhortations  will  not  be  soon  forgotten."  He  died  in  1794. 

Mr.  Massie  also  died  near  Nashville,  and  his  resting  place  is 
about  three  miles  southwest  of  that  city.  After  laboring  faith- 
fully in  the  ministry  for  three  years,  "he  obtained  what  he  de- 
sired, a  sudden  death,  by  falling  from  his  seat"  and  immediate- 
ly expiring.  He  was  a  deeply  afflicted,  devout,  and  useful  man. 

Valentine  Cook,  after  traveling  in  the  Virginia  Conference 
several  years,  came  to  Kentucky  and  was  a  remarkably  devoted 
and  useful  preacher.  He  was  a  learned  man,  rather  eccentric 
in  his  manners,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  labored  exten- 
sively and  very  successfully  in  planting  Methodism  in  the  West. 
His  memory  is  a  sweet  savor  throughout  the  region  of  his  labors. 
The  author  has  reason  to  remember  him  and  to  revere  and  love 
him.  He  sleeps  in  the  soil  of  Kentucky. 

John  McGee  was  one  of  the  principal  instruments  of  the  great 
revival  of  1800  in  the  West  and  was  distinguished  by  his  sternly 
simple  manners,  his  purity  of  life,  and  the  power  of  his  appeals 
to  the  heart.  He  was  father-in-law  to  Thomas  Logan  Douglass, 
and  died  at  an  advanced  age  in  Smith  County,  Tenn.,  greatly 
and  justly  respected. 

Such  were  the  men  with  whom  Mr.  McKendree  entered  the 
ministry.  That  band,  remarkable  for  their  primitive  simplicity 
of  deportment,  their  gravity,  zeal,  and  fidelity  to  their  mission, 
have  all  passed  away;  their  privations,  toils,  and  persecutions 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  47 

are  over.  The  battle  was  a  hard  one,  but  it  is  ended,  and  they 
have  the  victory  which  insures  an  eternity  of  bliss. 

At  the  Virginia  Conference,  held  in  Petersburg,  and  which 
began  April  20, 1789,  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  were  both  pres- 
ent. Mr.  McKendree  received  his  appointment  to  the  Cumber- 
land Circuit,  with  John  Barker  in  charge  as  his  colleague  and 
James  0' Kelly  for  his  elder.  His  field  of  labor  lay  on  James 
River,  and  principally  in  Washington  County,  Va.  This  seems 
to  have  been  a  very  agreeable  circuit,  and  he  found  here  many 
kind  friends  and  was  generally  warmly  received.  But,  as  was 
customary  at  that  period,  he  was  taken  from  that  circuit  after 
he  had  been  there  six  months  and  was  returned  to  Mecklenburg, 
the  scene  of  his  labors  during  the  previous  year.  This  fact  is 
evidence  of  the  error  of  the  tradition  which  represents  him  as 
having  been  an  unacceptable  young  preacher,  inasmuch  as  his 
presiding  elder  would  not  have  reappointed  him  to  the  same 
field  of  labor  where  he  must  have  known  he  would  not  be  well 
received  and  consequently  not  useful. 

We  have,  however,  but  little  reliable  information  as  to  his 
course  during  this  year.  That  he  was  a  close  and  methodical 
student,  punctual  to  all  his  engagements,  and  devoted  to  his 
work,  none  will  doubt  who  knew  him.  With  characteristic 
modesty,  he  confesses  that  he  was  not  only  treated  with  marked 
kindness  by  his  charge,  but  that  he  "saw  fruit  of  his  labors." 
One  important  fact  is  clearly  developed  in  his  history,  that 
during  this  year  he  became  fully  satisfied  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  preach  the  gospel  and  that  he  dismissed  all  those  harassing 
fears  which  had  tormented  his  mind  upon  this  subject.  Hence- 
forth we  shall  find  him  unreservedly  and  cheerfully  giving  all 
his  energies  of  soul  and  body  to  his  holy  vocation,  until  he 
"ceased  at  once  to  work  and  live." 

The  Conference  was  again  held  at  Petersburg,  in  1790,  and 
began  on  June  14.  Here  he  was  admitted  into  full  con- 
nection, and  ordained  a  deacon.1  Mr.  Asbury,  in  his  Journal, 

JThe  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  certificate  of  his  ordination: 
Know  all  Men  by  these  Presents,  That  I,  Francis  Asbury,  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  under  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and 
with  a  Single  Eye  to  his  Glory,  by  the  Imposition  of  my  Hands,  and 
Prayer,  did,  on  the  day  of  the  date  hereof,  set  apart 

WILLIAM  MCKENDREE 

for  the  office  of  a  Deacon  in  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — a  man 
whom  we  judge  to  be  well  qualified  for  that  work;  and  do  hereby  recom- 


48  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

says  of  this  Conference:  "All  was  peace  until  the  council  was 
mentioned.  The  young  men  appeared  to  be  entirely  under  the 
control  of  the  elders  and  turned  it  out  of  doors.  I  was  weary 
and  felt  but  little  freedom  to  speak  on  the  subject.  This 
business  is  to  be  explained  to  every  preacher;  and  then  it  must 
be  carried  through  the  Conferences  twenty-four  times — that  is, 
through  all  the  Conferences  for  two  years." 

The  council  here  alluded  to  had  been  originated  the  year  be- 
fore and  was  designed  as  a  remedy  for  two  difficulties:  (1)  The 
great  extension  of  the  work  rendered  it  quite  inconvenient  for 
all  the  preachers  to  meet  together  annually.  (2)  Each  Con- 
ference claimed  the  right  of  a  distinct  and  separate  power  and 
regarded  nothing  as  binding  except  the  ordination  and  station- 
ing of  the  preachers  unless  sanctioned  by  all  the  Conferences. 
The  condition  of  the  Conferences  was  somewhat  similar  to  that 
which  the  several  States  of  our  Confederacy  held  to  each  other 
before  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  various 
Conferences,  although  allied  to  each  other  by  agreement  as  to 
creed  and  the  moral  and  religious  objects  of  Methodism  and  also 
by  recognizing  the  authority  of  the  bishops  as  chief  pastors  in 
conferring  ordination  and  making  the  appointments,  claimed 
and  exercised  supreme  control  upon  all  questions  not  expressly 
intrusted  to  the  bishops  and  the  General  Conference.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  no  rule  or  regulation  affecting  the  general 
interests  of  the  Church  or  the  itinerancy  could  be  made,  changed, 
or  repealed,  nor  could  any  new  enterprise  be  attempted,  until 
it  had  been  agreed  to  and  adopted  by  each  Annual  Conference. 
To  avoid  these  serious  inconveniences  and  promote  unity  and 
efficiency,  the  plan  was  adopted  to  hold  a  council,  consisting  of 
not  less  than  nine,  of  which  the  bishops  and  the  presiding  elders 
throughout  the  connection  should  be  members.  This  general 
council,  representing  the  whole  work,  was  invested  with  "au- 
thority to  mature  everything  they  shall  judge  expedient.  (1) 
To  preserve  the  general  union.  (2)  To  render  and  preserve  the 
external  form  of  worship  similar  throughout  the  connection. 
(3)  To  preserve  the  essentials  of  Methodist  doctrines  and  dis- 

mend  him  to  all  whom  it  may  concern,  as  a  proper  Person  to  administer 
the  ordinance  of  Baptism,  Marriage,  and  the  Burial  of  the  Dead,  in  the 
absence  of  an  Elder;  and  to  feed  the  Flock  of  Christ,  so  long  as  his  Spirit 
and  Practice  are  such  as  become  the  Gospel.  In  Testimony  whereof  I 
have  hereunto  set  my  Hand  and  Seal,  this  fifteenth  day  of  June, 
One  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety. 

FRANCIS  [seal]  ASBURV. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  49 

cipline  pure  and  uncorrupted.  (4)  To  correct  all  abuses  and 
disorders.  And,  lastly,  to  mature  everything  they  may  see 
necessary  for  the  good  of  the  Church  and  for  promoting  and 
improving  our  colleges  and  plan  of  education."  This  plan,  in 
the  absence  of  a  delegated  General  Conference,  which  seems  not 
yet  to  have  been  thought  of,  was  certainly  an  improvement  upon 
the  state  of  things  previously  existing.  But  unfortunately  there 
was  a  provision  in  the  plan  which  not  only  required  unanimity 
in  the  council,  but  which,  moreover,  declared  that  "nothing  so 
assented  to  by  the  council  shall  be  binding  in  any  district  until 
it  has  been  agreed  upon  by  a  majority  of  the  Conference  held 
for  that  district."  These  provisions  neutralized  the  utility  of 
the  whole  arrangement.  By  requiring  all  the  acts  of  the  council 
to  be  adopted  by  the  District  Conferences  nothing  was  gained, 
as  to  time,  over  the  old  system.  And  as  unanimity  could  scarce- 
ly be  expected  among  so  large  a  number  of  independent  bodies 
in  reference  to  complicated  measures  connected  with  the  inter- 
ests of  a  Church  spreading  over  the  continent,  there  was  like- 
wise no  increased  security  for  the  harmonious  and  effective 
cooperation  of  the  whole  body.  The  object  of  these  unfortunate 
provisions  was  a  laudable  desire  to  maintain  Conference  rights; 
but  it  was  done  at  the  sacrifice  of  union  and  energy.  The 
manner  by  which  the  objects  of  its  authors  was  sought  to  be 
secured  rendered  the  plan  liable  to  attacks  and  exposed  them 
to  the  shafts  of  the  captious.  As  a  political  arrangement,  it  was 
a  blunder,  being  not  at  all  adapted  to  the  necessities  of  the 
Church  or  the  spirit  of  the  times.  It  attempted  to  unite,  with- 
out any  sinister  design  on  the  part  of  its  pure-minded  advocates, 
the  aristocratic  with  the  most  unlimited  democratic  element. 
A  "maturing  council,"  composed  of  bishops  and  their  ap- 
pointees, was  the  aristocratic  principle;  the  purely  democratic 
feature  was  found  in  the  fact  that  each  District  Conference  had 
an  unqualified  veto  power.  This  plan  might  answer  for  the 
Independents  and  for  all  who  adopt  the  Congregational  system 
of  Church  government,  but  could  only  result  in  discord  and 
disaster  in  a  Church  which  seeks  to  accomplish  the  benevolent 
mission  of  Christianity  by  a  concentration  of  her  influence. 

In  justice  to  Mr.  Asbury  and  those  who  concurred  with  that 
sagacious  and  pure-hearted  man  in  recommending  this  measure, 
it  should  be  stated  that  at  first  all  the  Conferences  received  the 
plan  with  approbation,  and,  under  a  different  state  of  things  and 
with  some  modifications,  it  would  have  been  a  very  useful  ar- 
4 


50  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

rangement;  but  after  two  years'  trial  it  was  abandoned  by  com- 
mon consent. 

The  first  session  of  this  council  was  held  at  Cokesbury,  on 
December  1,  1789,  consisting  of  Richard  Ivy,  from  Georgia; 
R.  Ellis,  South  Carolina;  E.  Morris,  North  Carolina;  Philip 
Bruce,  Northern  District  of  Virginia;  James  O'Kelly,  Southern 
District  of  Virginia;  L.  Green,  Ohio;  Nelson  Reid,  Western 
Shore,  Maryland;  J.  Everett,  Eastern  Shore;  John  Dickens, 
Pennsylvania;  J.  0.  Cromwell,  New  Jersey;  and  Freeborn 
Garrettson,  New  York.  Bishop  Asbury  says:  "All  our  business 
was  done  in  harmony  and  love."  "  The  concerns  of  the  college," 
"the  printing  business,"  "economy,"  "union,"  "funds  for  our 
suffering  preachers  on  the  western  frontiers,"  etc.,  were  sub- 
jects discussed  and  acted  on  at  this  meeting;  and  no  doubt  their 
action  was  wise  and  necessary.  But  alas!  we  hpve  already  seen 
how  easily  all  their  schemes  were  rendered  abortive  by  the 
action  of  the  Virginia  Conference. 

There  is  much  significance  in  the  laconic  remark  of  Bishop 
Asbury,  attributing  the  defeat  of  the  "council"  to  the  influence 
of  the  elders  over  the  young  preachers.  We  have  already  seen 
that  Mr.  James  O'Kelly  was  a  member  of  this  council,  was  pres- 
ent at  its  session,  and  sanctioned  its  suggestions.  But,  un- 
fortunately for  his  reputation  as  well  as  for  the  peace  of  the 
Church  in  Virginia,  he  had  scarcely  returned  to  his  district  be- 
fore he  changed  his  mind  and  began  a  course  of  systematic 
opposition.  Whether  this  desertion  of  his  colleagues  and,  at 
first,  covert  war  against  the  very  measures  he  had  sustained  in 
the  council  resulted  from  a  conviction  of  their  impropriety  or 
of  opposition  to  the  council  itself,  or,  which  is  more  probable 
still,  from  jealousy  of  Bishop  Asbury's  growing  influence, 
coupled  with  an  inordinate  thirst  for  popularity,  must  be  left 
to  the  decision  of  the  reader.  But  certainly  his  subsequent  con- 
duct exhibits  him  in  a  very  questionable  light.  If  opposed  to 
the  principle  in  the  organization  of  the  council,  he  had  time 
and  opportunities  enough  to  form  and  express  his  convictions 
without  subjecting  himself  to  the  charge  of  gross  inconsis- 
tency. If  his  objections  were  founded  on  the  acts  of  the 
council,  he  should  have  opposed  them  in  the  session  of  the 
council,  where  one  dissent  would  have  defeated  them.  But 
we  are  constrained  to  the  conclusion  that  other  and  less 
worthy  motives  dictated  his  factious  course.  He  may  not  have 
been  fully  aware  of  the  secret  springs  of  his  feelings  and  actions 
at  the  beginning  of  his  defection,  but  charity  itself,  although  it 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  51 

can  "cover  a  multitude  of  sins,"  can  scarcely  be  so  blind  as  not 
to  perceive  that  his  course  is  irreconcilable  with  candor  and 
Christian  integrity. 

He  was  an  old  preacher,  of  fine  talents,  and  wielded  a  great 
influence  over  the  younger  preachers.  He  had  evidently  laid  the 
train  for  the  ruin  of  Bishop  Asbury's  favorite  plan,  and  the  ex- 
plosion began  at  this  Conference.  This  was,  however,  but  the 
beginning;  the  end  is  not  yet. 

At  the  Conference  of  1790,  Mr.  McKendree  was  appointed 
to  Portsmouth  Circuit,  with  Jesse  Nicholson  for  his  colleague 
and  James  0' Kelly  for  his  elder.  His  narrative  of  this  year's 
work,  of  his  transfer  to  Surry  Circuit,  and  of  the  pleasure  and 
spiritual  profit  he  enjoyed  have  been  stated  in  his  letter  to 
Bishop  Asbury. 

The  Diary  of  Mr.  McKendree,  which  now  lies  before  the 
writer,  begins  May  7,  1790. 

To  those  who  recollect  the  manners  of  Mr.  McKendree  after 
he  became  a  bishop,  it  may  be  surprising  to  learn  that  one  who 
was  usually  placid,  so  philosophically  self-possessed  and  bland, 
whether  in  the  parlor,  the  pulpit,  or  in  the  chair,  was  remarkable 
for  the  austerities  which  he  imposed  upon  himself  and  the  fer- 
vor, almost  verging  upon  excessive  enthusiasm,  which  marked 
his  early  ministerial  history.  A  few  quotations  from  his  Diary 
are  given,  not  certainly  to  condemn,  but  to  illustrate  truthfully 
the  depth  and  earnestness  of  his  piety  and  zeal: 

"Friday,  May  7,  1790. — This  being  fast  day,  a  day  I  much 
delight  in,  because  it  is  a  day  on  which  Jesus  often  feeds  my 
soul,  I  rose  early,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  and  went  into  the  field 
for  prayer  and  meditation;  returned  to  the  house  and,  after 
family  prayer,  sat  down  closely  to  reading,  writing,  and  prayer. 
The  day  proved  very  rainy.  I  have  no  watch,  and  having  risen 
so  early  and  a  few  persons  having  come  too  soon,  we  mistook 
the  time  of  day  and  began  the  meeting;  a  precious  meeting  we 
had  indeed." 

This  meeting,  it  seems,  was  held  in  a  private  house,  and  after 
they  had  closed  the  exercises  and  had  waited  an  hour  or  two, 
and  "just  as  dinner  was  set,  the  people  began  to  come  to  meet- 
ing." Mortified  at  his  mistake,  but  not  discouraged,  he  post- 
poned the  dinner  arrangements  and  proceeded  to  hold  another 
meeting.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  better  of  the  two,  for  he 
adds:  "The  great  Jehovah  poured  heaven  all  over  us,  until  I,  as 
well  as  the  rest,  was  filled,  overrun,"  etc. 

"Saturday,  May  8. — Deep  solemnity  and  heart  agony  rested 


52  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

on  me.  0  how  I  pant  after  more  of  God!  Went  to  meeting; 
found  very  few;  spoke  from,  'O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son!'  etc. 
Felt  like  I  wanted  to  send  'rivers  of  tears'  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth;  returned  and  went  into  the  preacher's  room,  and  Jesus 
met  me.  All  my  sorrow  was  emptied  into  his  bosom,  and  I  had 
access  to  a  throne  of  grace." 

Having  gone  into  the  woods  on  that  afternoon  to  read  and 
pray  in  solitude,  he  says:  "My  heart  burned,  but  this  did  not 
suffice.  I  tried  this  way  and  that,  until  at  last  I  got  into  an 
agony  of  prayer.  0  agony!  Opain!  0  sweet  pain!  0  how  the 
flesh  dreads  agonizing  prayer!  But  I  am  convinced  there  is  no 
getting  nigh  or  keeping  close  to  God  without  it." 

"Sunday,  May  9. — Had  a  comfortable  time  in  the  morning 
and  set  off  with  some  brethren  to  love  feast  at  Brother  Young's 
meetinghouse;  had  sweet,  refreshing  showers  by  the  way;  got 
within  a  few  miles  and  saw  such  numbers  on  the  way  and  the 
road  so  trodden,  I  felt  an  awe;  and  Satan  offered  me  a  tempta- 
tion, but  I  absolutely  refused  to  receive  it;  turned  into  the 
woods,  and  in  a  beautiful  valley  fell  at  Jesus's  feet.  He  opened 
heaven  and  filled  my  soul  with  such  victorious  joys  that  the 
fear  of  men  and  of  devils  vanished.  As  I  stepped  into  the  door, 
I  felt  like  God  was  there.  ...  At  night  had  prayer  meeting,  a 
time  of  the  Lord's  power,  Christians  shouting,  and  my  soul  de- 
lighted. .  .  .  Went  to  bed  about  11  o'clock.  The  Lord  waked 
me,  as  usual;  regardless  of  interrupting  preachers  or  people,  I 
praised  the  Lord,  and  went  to  bed  again." 

This  is  an  allusion  to  his  habit  of  rising  from  his  bed  every 
night  for  devotion. 

"Monday,  May  10. — Waked  at  the  break  of  day;  addressed 
the  throne  of  grace;  went  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  a  fine 
stream  and  listened  to  the  murmuring  waters  and  singing  birds; 
sent  a  volley  of  praise  to  Jesus,  with  strong  cries  for  such  things 
as  I  stood  in  need  of.  Began  searching  my  heart  by  the  follow- 
ing questions: 

"  1.  For  what  have  I  left  dear  parents,  family  connections,  and 
all  that  is  dear  to  me?  Answer.  Not  for  applause  or  money  or 
yet  to  spread  my  name  or  for  any  sinister  view;  but  (1)  for 
peace  to  my  soul;  (2)  to  obey  God,  without  which  I  cannot  keep 
peace;  and  (3)  if  by  any  means  I  may  be  helpful  to  sinners  in  my 
generation. 

"2.  Why  do  you  exert  yourself  in  reading,  praying,  and 
meditating  so  much?  Answer.  Not  to  merit  heaven  or  to  rec- 
ommend me  to  God's  favor  or  yet  'to  be  seen  of  men';  but  to 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  53 

become  more  and  more  acquainted  with  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

"3.  How  long  do  you  intend  to  stand  it?  Answer.  As  long 
as  I  breathe." 

On  May  18,  Mr.  O'Kelly  came  to  his  appointment  and 
preached  for  him;  and  from  the  following  remarks  in  his  Diary 
no  doubt  Mr.  O'Kelly  endeavored  privately  and  under  the 
guise  of  confidence  to  weaken  his  attachments  to  Mr.  Asbury 
and  the  government  of  the  Church.  He  wrote  thus: 

"But,  poor  preachers,  when  they  come  together  and  begin  to 
unbosom  themselves  and  look  into  their  distresses,  there  is 
grief  indeed!  Such  a  time  of  trouble  I  have  not  felt.  Heavy 
clouds  rising;  thunder  begins  to  rumble,  and  lightning  flash; 
such  gloomy  prospects  I  never  saw  before,"  etc. 

What  a  pity  that  one  so  pure  and  artless  should  be  brought 
under  the  influence  of  a  jealous,  sour,  intriguing  old  preacher! 
Here  is  more  of  it: 

"Wednesday,  May  19. — Brother  P'Kelly  preached  again, 
surely  the  greatest  sermon  I  ever  heard.  The  dear  old  man  got 
his  bitter  cup  sweetened  and  his  soul  inflamed.  This  evening 
the  preachers  got  together  again  and  the  griefs  returned  again; 
went  to  bed  sorrowful." 

Yes,  here  is  an  elder  poisoning  the  minds  of  the  young  preach- 
ers against  Mr.  Asbury  and  other  holy  men,  assuming  ex- 
traordinary piety  and  love  for  Methodism,  leading  these  unsus- 
pecting souls  to  regard  Mr.  Asbury  as  despotic  and  mercenary, 
and  plotting  the  overthrow  of  the  very  system  for  which  he  had 
lately  voted  in  council.  What  a  presiding  elder!  A  wolf  in 
charge  of  lambs! 

On  Thursday,  June  10,  he  took  leave  of  his  charge  and  started  . 
for  Conference;  met  with  Mr.  O'Kelly  and  continued  with  him 
to  Petersburg.  On  the  way,  fell  in  company  with  a  good  many 
of  his  brethren  going  to  Conference.  Of  course,  Mr.  O'Kelly 
could  not  lose  so  good  an  opportunity  to  carry  out  his  miserable 
designs.  Here  is  the  indication  of  it : 

"Friday,  June  11. — Brother  O'Kelly  preached  from  Romans 
xi.  33.  We  had  great  preaching,  but  not  so  happy  a  time  as  I 
have  seen;  here  met  with  several  other  preachers;  went  on  after 
preaching,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  to  Brother  P.'s.  Had  some 
weighty  matters  brought  before  us,"  etc. 

Who  doubts  but  the  "weighty  matters  brought  before"  them 
were  presented  by  the  elder?  that  the  object  was  to  afflict  and 
depreciate  Bishop  Asbury  and  the  old  preachers  who  agreed 


54  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

with  him,  by  "throwing  out  of  doors"  at  the  ensuing  Conference 
the  recommendations  of  "the  council"?  This  is  the  way  the 
elders  got  the  "control  of  the  young  preachers."  What  a  lesson 
does  the  subsequent  history  of  this  man  teach  to  ecclesiastical 
demagogues!  Let  young  preachers  beware  of  such  men. 

The  following  extract  may  be  interesting  as  illustrative  of 
early  Conference  scenes: 

"Monday,  June  14,  1790. — Got  to  Petersburg;  found  Con- 
ference sitting1  and  the  young  preachers  going  through  their 
examination;  and  to  my  comfort  heard  eighteen  or  twenty  re- 
ceived without  a  blemish,  after  standing  their  time  of  probation. 
In  the  evening,  Bishop  Asbury  read  his  letters  from  different 
quarters,  which  gave  accounts  of  the  great  work  of  God  going 
on.  The  Lord  made  it  a  time  of  sweetness  and  power  to  us  in 
general.  At  the  adjourning  of  the  Conference,  Mr.  Jarratt,  an 
Episcopalian  preacher,  who  was  with  us,  went  to  prayer,  and 
a  time  of  shouting  we  had." 

"Tuesday,  Second  Day  of  Conference. — We  had  a  precious 
time  in  the  morning.  Mr.  Jarratt  preached  at  11  o'clock.  After 
preaching,  seventeen  preachers,  being  elected,  were  called  and 
presented  to  the  bishop  to  be  ordained  deacons.  Such  a  sight 
I  never  saw  before.  It  was  a  solemn  time  indeed  and  seemed  to 
affect  the  extensive  congregation.  For  my  own  part,  I  think  I 
was  never  thus  affected  before.  Felt  fresh  desires  and  stronger 
resolutions  than  ever  I  experienced  before  to  live  to  God  alto- 
gether. The  world  this  day  seemed  to  be  left  very  far  behind, 
and  my  soul  encompassed  with  light." 

His  parchment,  signed  by  Bishop  Asbury,  dated  June  15, 
1790,  certifies  that  he  was  one  of  these  seventeen;  although 
from  an  excess  of  modesty  he  does  not  say  so.  "A  solemn  time, 
indeed!"  Doubtless  it  was  peculiarly  so  to  him.  It  was  the 
hour  of  his  public  consecration  to  the  ministry  and  of  the  ir- 
revocable vow  of  self-dedication  to  the  "one  work"  of  saving 
souls.  The  impression  of  that  hour  never  was  erased,  that 
solemn  vow  never  violated.  Like  Wesley,  Coke,  and  Asbury, 
he  gave  all  his  time  and  energies,  to  his  latest  hour,  to  that 
most  noble  of  all  works. 

lThis  Conference  was  most  probably  held  in  a  private  house,  as  I  learn 
by  a  letter  from  the  late  A.  Dibrell,  dated  Norfolk,  Va.,  January  26, 
1855,  that  "Bishop  McKendree  was  ordained  deacon  in  the  house  of  Mr. 
Gressett  Davis,  the  house  now  occupied  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Follett. 
There  was  at  that  time  no  Methodist  Church  in  Petersburg." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  55 

The  Conference  over,  Mr.  McKendree  started  immediately 
to  his  new  field  of  labor  and  reached  it  in  time  to  fill  the  first 
appointment,  Sunday,  June  20.  Notwithstanding  the  length 
of  the  extracts  already  given  from  his  Journal,  we  must  give 
one  or  two  more  in  this  connection,  as  evincing  his  course  dur- 
ing this  year. 

"Saturday,  June  26. — Awoke  this  morning  at  my  usual  time 
and  found  myself  much  disordered;  thought  it  was  prudent  to 
indulge  my  debilitated  body  with  'a  little  more  sleep  and  a 
little  more  slumber.'  But  I  soon  found  a  fire  shut  up  in  my 
bones  struggling  for  vent.  I  sprang  up,  fell  on  my  knees,  and 
Jesus  answered : '  Here  am  I.'  I  read  five  chapters  on  my  knees, 
as  usual,  with  deliberation  and  in  deep  meditation,  praying  for 
every  five  verses  and  found  heaven  all  around  me.  I  was  made 
so  sensible  of  God's  goodness  that  I  sank  into  nothing  before 
him,  and  every  breath  and  thought  seemed  to  be  prayer  or 
praise;  could  scarcely  help  from  bursting  into  open  praise  before 
my  strange  brethren.  My  heart  melted  like  wax  and  my  soul 
was  overwhelmed  with  gratitude." 

In  the  evening,  after  Brother  Nicholson  had  preached  for 
him,  he  says: 

"We  went  on  the  seashore.  So  noble  a  scene  never  before 
saluted  my  eyes!  As  I  approached  the  foaming,  raging  sea,  I 
observed  the  waves  had  their  'bounds/  and  their  Almighty 
Creator  was  presented  to  my  mind.  I  cried  out,  'Who  would 
refuse  to  worship  such  a  God  as  this? '  All  earthly  objects  ap- 
pear small,  except  such  as  raise  great  thoughts  about  God." 

The  incidents  noted  in  his  Journal,  under  date  of  June  30, 
present  a  new  phase  in  his  character  and  evince  that  he  pos- 
sessed both  physical  and  moral  courage. 

"  Wednesday,  June  30. — Had  three  hard  places  to  preach  at, 
where  there  are  no  societies.  The  second,  only  last  Sabbath .  pro- 
duced hundreds  of  hearers;  some  drunk,  some  cursing  and  swear- 
ing, and  others  offering  the  preacher  grog;  while  he  was,  as  he  said, 
on  his  best  behavior  for  fear  of  a  whipping.  This  set  me  all  on 
fire,  felt  as  though  a  whipping,  for  Christ's  sake,  would  be  sweet, 
with  faithful  dealing  with  such  rebels.  I  went  and  out  they 
came.  Nobody  said  to  me:  'Alight,'  'Come  in  the  house,'  or 
'Sit  down;'  it  was  a  private  dwelling  house.  I  went  right  in, 
put  down  my  things,  and  fixed  the  table  to  stand  by.  I  felt  a 
fire  in  my  bones  and  began  preaching  from  Luke  xvi.  23:  'And 
in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments.'  They  seemed  to 
hear  with  great  attention.  I  did  not  spare  them  in  the  least; 


56  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

many  deep  sighs  mixed  with  tears.  A  cloud  came  up  and  it  be- 
gan to  thunder  fearfully.  I  claimed  the  thunder  for  my  God 
and  bid  defiance  to  every  other  power,  daring  the  rebels  then 
to  say  one  word.  The  Lord  made  it  his  time  to  pierce  many  of 
their  hard  hearts.  I  came  off  clear,  road  through  the  rain,  re- 
joicing, to  Cross  Roads,  and  rested  from  my  labors." 

One  or  two  more  extracts  from  his  Journal  will  suffice  for  the 
present. 

"Monday,  July  5. — Sprang  from  bed  at  the  crack  of  day, 
when  all  lay  sleeping  around  me.  Hurried  away  with  my  Bible 
to  the  open  fields  overspread  with  the  curtains  of  heaven  and 
prostrated  myself  before  the  Deity.  Felt  less  than  nothing; 
wrestled  in  prayer;  ran  through  the  fields  of  meditation;  read 
ten  chapters  on  my  knees,  praying  fervently  every  five  verses. 
The  Lord  bowed  the  heavens  and  came  down  to  visit  me, 
poured  out  salvation  until  my  soul  was  fully  delighted,"  etc. 

"Saturday,  July  10. — The  attributes  of  the  Lord,  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  all  the  holy  angels,  and  the  myriad  prayers  of 
thousands  of  saints  are  my  friends  and  on  my  side.  Storms  and 
calms,  pain  and  ease,  persecution  and  prosperity,  life  and 
death — you  all  belong  to  me  through  Jesus  Christ.  Glory, 
hallelujah!  Jesus  is  my  beloved.  Enough,  enough!  What  can 
daunt  my  soul  when  Jesus  says,  'Go'?  I'll  run  to  and  fro  at 
his  command,  in  ease  or  pain,  and  count  the  sufferings  of  this 
life  not  worth  mentioning  in  comparison  of  the  transcendent 
glories  to  be  revealed." 

And  so  he  did  run  until  he  found  that  glory. 


CHAPTER  V 

Extracts  from  his  Diary — Preaches  two  hours — Vessels  in  a  gale — Feels 
like  a  wanderer — Conversions — Preaches  in  the  open  air — In  Ports- 
mouth and  Norfolk — Bands — Very  busy — Children's  class — Duty  to 
baptized  children — Self-dedication — Emancipation — Is  changed  to  an- 
other circuit — "Power" — Good  breeding — New  circuit — His  course  of 
life. 

As  the  leading  object  of  this  biography  is  to  give  a  full  and 
faithful  portraiture  of  this  honored  and  excellent  minister  of 
God,  no  apology  can  be  necessary  for  quoting  so  frequently 
from  his  Diary.  It  would  be  an  unpardonable  display  of  vanity 
if  the  writer  were  to  substitute  his  own  description  of  the  man 
for  the  intellectual  and  moral  daguerreotype  which  his  own 
writings  furnish  us.  We  quote  his  Diary  again: 

"  Thursday,  July  15. — Feel  so  little  and  mean.  I  go  through 
a  round  of  duties,  but  with  so  little  life,  I  blush  and  ask  pardon. 
Rode  fifteen  miles,  found  a  large  congregation;  preached  two 
hours  and  thought  the  time  short.  The  word  had  a  sweet  effect. 
Went  into  class  meeting;  the  people  pressed  upstairs  and  begged 
to  be  permitted  to  come  in;  had  a  good  time;  several  joined  the 
Church." 

The  next  sentence  reveals  the  fact  that,  even  at  that  time,  he 
was  subject  to  a  determination  of  blood  to  his  brain,  which,  in 
the  decline  of  life,  often  afflicted  him  so  much  as  to  disqualify 
him  for  any  mental  or  physical  labor:  "Was  obliged  to  go  to 
bed  before  the  meeting  was  over;  ate  no  dinner;  kept  my  bed 
until  night;  was  bled,  and  found  some  relief."  This  indisposi- 
tion continued  several  days,  although  he, was  able  to  attend  his 
appointments  and  had  some  refreshing  meetings. 

"Monday,  July  19. — Preached  at  Annapolis  to  an  attentive 
people.  After  meeting,  took  myself  to  solitude;  found  much 
sweet  communion  with  the  Lord  on  a  river  bank;  wrestled  in 
prayer;  reading  and  meditating,  the  place  became  awful.  A 
heavy  cloud  arose  very  hastily;  the  waves  ran  high;  vessels  hove 
in  sight  under  furled  sails;  I  sat  and  looked  on;  never  in  my  life 
did  the  great  Jehovah  appear  so  awfully  powerful;  my  soul 
shuddered.  But  in  the  midst,  his  providential  care  filled  me 
with  praise.  The  rain  and  clouds  soon  obscured  the  view;  I 
returned  to  the  house  and  cast  myself  at  Jesus's  feet  in  prayer. 
During  the  balance  of  the  day  I  found  continual  peace  in  my 
soul,  although  I  mourn  on  account  of  my  little  progress  in  the 
divine  life  and  see  so  few  souls  getting  converted.  Lord,  revive 


58  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

thy  work!  'Turn  again  our  captivity,  0  Lord,  and  we  will 
praise  thee!" 

The  next  quotation  indicates  a  state  of  feeling  in  which  many 
itinerant  preachers  can  sympathize.  He  was  a  wanderer  from 
home  and  loved  friends  for  Christ's  sake.  Like  his  great  Master 
and  prototype,  "he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  The 
morally  sublime  and  benevolent  object  of  his  mission  was  not 
always  appreciated  by  those  for  whose  salvation  he  labored. 
And  even  when  the  melancholy  feeling  arising  from  a  sense  of 
dependence  among  strangers,  which  he  here  expresses,  may 
have  been  groundless  as  regards  the  hospitable  disposition  of 
the  people,  yet  how  natural  and  pardonable  the  emotion! 

"Tuesday,  July  20. — Find  myself  still  very  poorly  and  in 
much  pain,  yet  I  must  go  on,  for  I  have  no  place  to  rest  my 
aching  head.  Ye  sweet  birds,  sing  on;  make  your  nests  and 
raise  your  young  in  peace;  but  I  am  beholden  to  others  for  a 
place  of  shelter  and  rest.  Rejoice,  ye  foxes;  sport,  ye  active 
lambs,  the  God  of  nature  smiles  upon  you." 

But  sensible  that  such  a  strain  of  feelings  may  easily  mislead 
him,  he  checks  them  by  adding: 

"Beware  of  reasoning  with  Satan! 

"0  faithless  soul  to  reason  thus, 

And  murmur  without  end! 
Did  Christ  expire  upon  the  cross, 

And  is  he  not  your  friend? 
Your  Saviour  is  your  real  friend 

To  tell  your  secrets  to; 
On  his  advice  you  may  depend 

In  everything  you  do. 

Found  a  large  congregation,  lifted  my  heart  to  Jesus;  he  an- 
swered. In  the  beginning  it  was  painful  to  speak,  but  I  soon  got 
well.  The  power  of  the  Lord  came  down,  the  Word  was  like 
fire  among  the  people;  some  that  never  heard  a  Methodist  be- 
fore, as  I  was  informed,  sunk  to  the  floor  and  cried  for  mercy. 
God  bless  these  yielding  sinners!  If  I  go  among  them,  they 
crowd  around  me  to  see  who  can  talk  to  me.  Fourteen  mourners 
on  the  floor  and  two  sprung  to  life!  At  night  the  people 
thronged  out,  and  among  the  rest  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  Method- 
ists. The  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit.  Just  as  I  began  to  exhort, 
one  was  converted  and  sprung  up;  a  shout  bursted  in  the  con- 
gregation, I  turned  round,  and  caught  the  old  persecutor  in  my 
arms.  I  called  upon  him  to  repent,  and  told  him  he  would  be 
damned  if  he  did  not." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  59 

"  Wednesday,  July  21 . — So  many  people  came  to  meeting;  I 
was  compelled  to  take  my  stand  under  a  tree  in  the  open  air. 
About  the  middle  of  the  sermon  one  fell  to  the  ground.  It  was 
a  solemn  time;  joined  ten  in  society.  Although  no  appointment 
had  been  made  for  meeting,  I  was  astonished  to  see  a  large 
house  crowded  with  people  after  dark.  I  risked  my  health, 
preached,  and  found  the  Lord  as  evidently  present  as  perhaps  I 
ever  did  in  my  life.  The  God  of  Elijah  answers  by  fire!  Two 
souls  sprung  into  life,  one  backslider  professed  to  be  reclaimed, 
and  others  lay  almost  like  dead  men.  This  being  a  new  preach- 
ing place,  the  people  were  amazed  and  gazed  as  if  they  saw 
wonders." 

The  next  three  days  he  spent  in  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk, 
attending  class  meetings  and  preaching  when  well  enough  to  do 
so,  but  still  laboring  under  debility  and  pain.  Mention  is  made 
of  Brother  Nicholson  in  Portsmouth,  and  Martin  in  Norfolk,  as 
preachers  in  charge  of  these  places.  In  the  former  place  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  Brother  George,  and  "found  him  and 
his  family  very  kind  and  pious." 

"  Tuesday,  July  27,  and  Wednesday,  July  28. — A  little  com- 
forted in  meeting,  but  generally  feel  much  backwardness  to  my 
duty,  which  is  painful  to  me,  but  not  half  painful  enough. 
Lord,  increase  my  faith,  inflame  my  desires;  like  a  mighty 
magnet  draw  my  whole  nature  toward  thee,  that  I  may  run 
after  thee  in  full  stretch,  with  an  earnest  and  expanded  heart 
and  take  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  humble  violence!  Amen, 
amen." 

"Thursday,  July  29. — 0,  this  leanness!  and  the  worst  of  all 
is,  I  am  too  contented  in  it  and  too  much  at  ease.  0  Lord,  pour 
fire  into  my  soul  and  heart  and  bones!  Shut  it  up  there  until 
every  power  is  inflamed!  Let  me  wrestle  and  fight  and  die 
rather  than  sink  into  a  formal  spirit  of  religion!" 

The  next  quotation  is  a  characteristic  one: 

"Monday,  August  2. — Rest  day;  arose  early;  applied  myself 
closely  to  study.  There  are  several  persons  present  with  whom 
I  have  been  in  company  for  several  days  and  have  endeavored 
to  provoke  them  to  good  works;  I  hope  I  have  succeeded.  Last 
evening  I  formed  five  bands,  one  of  which  wept  over  their  lean- 
ness and  started  with  renewed  zeal.  This  morning,  at  breakfast, 
they  told  me  they  rose  at  midnight,  walked  a  mile,  and  held  a 
band  meeting  while  I  lay  asleep.  I  stood  confounded  and 
ashamed." 


60  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

The  following  extract  from  his  Diary,  dated  Thursday,  Au- 
gust 5,  1790,  illustrates  the  character  of  our  fathers  in  the  itiner- 
ancy, and  the  secret  of  their  success: 

"Rose  early;  poured  out  my  soul  in  prayer  and  praise;  rode 
to  Portsmouth;  met  the  other  preacher  and  at  twelve  o'clock 
met  class;  had  a  comfortable  time.  Rode  into  the  country  and 
preached  at  4  P.M.  The  power  of  the  Lord  was  amongst  the 
people;  deep  solemnity  rested  on  the  whole  congregation; 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  down  crying  for  mercy.  One  was  con- 
verted and  appeared  to  be  as  happy  as  a  creature  can  be.  Re- 
turned to  town,  preached  at  eight  o'clock,  and  went  to  rest  at 
half-past  ten  o'clock,  much  fatigued  in  body  but  with  perfect 
calmness  of  soul." 

Again  he  writes: 

"Friday,  August  6. — Set  out  soon;  rode  t\venty-five  miles; 
preached,  met  class,  and  classed  seventeen  children." 

How  suggestive  is  the  closing  remark!  And  may  not  the 
inquiry  be  both  pertinent  and  important  just  here,  whether,  as 
Methodists,  and  especially  as  Methodist  preachers,  we  are 
doing  our  whole  duty  to  our  children?  Sunday  schools  have 
done  much  for  them;  but  ought  not  the  children  of  our  people 
to  be  placed  more  fully  under  the  pastoral  oversight  of  our 
preachers  in  charge?  Should  they  not  form  children's  classes, 
meet  them  regularly,  instruct,  exhort,  and  pray  with  and  for 
them?  So  did  young  McKendree.  Is  it  not  time  we  were  all 
awake  to  the  importance  of  this  work?  Christ  loves  "the  little 
children,"  is  angry  at  those  who  forbid  their  coming  to  him, 
says  he  is  their  King,  and  his  kingdom  is  composed  of,  or  be- 
longs to,  such,  for  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  presents 
them  as  models  to  which  adults  must  be  assimilated,  that  they 
may  enter  the  kingdom,  thus  recognizing  their  right  to  the 
privileges  of  citizenship  in  his  kingdom  and  of  their  eternal 
salvation  except  upon  a  forfeiture  of  these  blessings.  Thus  we 
understand  the  great  Master;  so  the  great  body  of  the  Christian 
Church  understood  him  down  to  the  Reformation.  Hence  the 
undisputed  recognition  of  their  right  to  baptism  by  the  early 
Church. 

And  now  we  baptize  them  and  have  done  with  them!  Surely 
a  good  shepherd  will  take  care  of  the  lambs  of  his  flock.  Christ's 
lambs'should  have  our  care. 

On  Saturday,  August  28,  after  preaching  and  attending  the 
burial  of  a  friend,  he  received  a  packet  of  letters,  and  among 
them  was  one  from  "a  friend,"  which  seems  to  have  excited  him 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  61 

greatly.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  design  of  this  communi- 
cation, it  became  a  spur  to  his  devotional  feelings  and  called 
forth  the  following  strong  expressions  of  renewed  dedication  of 
himself  to  the  service  of  God : 

"I  feel  fresh  courage;  the  'spur'  provokes — i.  e.,  excites — me, 
heaven  allures  me,  the  Father  draws,  and  Jesus  bids  me  come. 
And  what  shall  prevent?  Shall  tribulation,  affliction,  or  per- 
secution? No.  Is  anything  too  much  to  give  up  or  too  dear 
to  part  from?  Shall  chief  friends  or  near  connections  stay  me? 
No.  Shall  honor  or  pleasure?  I  spurn  them.  Shall  the  riches  of 
Peru  or  the  gold  of  Ophir  be  thought  equal  to  thine  eternal 
love,  0  Lord?  And,  with  all  the  rest,  I  cheerfully  make  the 
surrender  of  soul,  flesh,  and  blood,  and,  at  thy  command,  father 
and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  houses  and  lands,  and  the  yoke 
broke  and  the  oppressed  go  free.  And  my  life,  adorable  Jesus, 
is  at  thy  disposal!  All  these  do  I  view  as  valueless  when  they 
rise  between  thee  and  me.  And  now,  0  Lord  God  Almighty, 
grant  me  one  request,  for  Christ's  sake;  give  me  grace;  give 
me  power  cheerfully  to  leave  them  all  at  thy  command." 

Two  remarks  suggested  by  the  above  quotation  may  not  be 
considered  inappropriate: 

1.  Without  a  frequent  and  solemn  reconsecration  of  himself 
and  of  all  he  has  to  the  service  of  God,  no  preacher  is  fitted  for 
his  holy  work. 

2.  There  is  doubtless,  an  inkling  of  his  feelings  on  the  subject 
of  emancipation  in  the  above  phrase:  "The  yoke  broke,  the 
oppressed  go  free." 

Mr.  McKendree,  in  common  with  the  whole  body  of  his 
colleagues  in  the  Methodist  ministry,  and  perhaps  in  the  mem- 
bership, was  doubtless  sternly  opposed  to  the  African  slave 
trade,  then  carried  on  extensively.  The  feelings  of  Mr.  Wesley 
and  of  Dr.  Coke  were  well  understood  upon  this  subject.  Hu- 
manity shuddered  at  the  injustice  and  cruelty  connected  with 
it.  South  Carolina,  while  a  British  province,  passed  an  act 
prohibiting  the  further  importation  of  slaves,  but  Great  Britian 
rejected  it.  The  province  of  Virginia  repeatedly  remonstrated 
with  the  crown  of  England  against  it  and  begged  its  discontin- 
uance, but  British  selfishness  protected  the  traffic  and,  assisted 
by  New  England,  carried  it  on  until  the  South  was  filled  with 
captured  Africans.1 

JThe  colony  of  Virginia,  beginning  as  far  back  as  1699,  passed  twenty- 
three  acts  to  repress  the  slave  trade. 


62  Life  and  Timss  of  Bishop  McKendree 

In  her  petition  to  the  British  throne  in  1772,  the  following 
language  is  used : 

We  are  encouraged  to  look  up  to  the  throne  and  implore  Your  Majesty's 
paternal  assistance  in  averting  a  calamity  of  the  most  alarming  nature. 
The  importation  of  slaves  into  the  colonies  from  the  coast  of  Africa  hath 
long  been  considered  a  trade  of  inhumanity;  and  under  its  present  en- 
couragement, we  have  too  much  reason  to  fear,  will  endanger  the  very 
existence  of  Your  Majesty's  American  dominions. 

Deeply  impressed  with  these  sentiments,  we  most  humbly  beseech 
our  Majesty  to  remove  all  those  restraints  on  our  Majesty's  governors 
of  this  colony  which  inhibit  their  assenting  to  such  laws  which  might 
check  so  very  pernicious  a  commerce. 

These  petitions  availed  nothing.  The  reply  which  had  been 
made  to  South  Carolina,  that  the  slave  trade  was  beneficial  and 
necessary  to  the  mother  country,  and  which  was  given  to  the 
attempts  to  abolish  the  trade  in  Jamaica  in  1765,  and  repeated 
in  1774  that  "we  cannot  allow  the  colonies  to  check  or  discour- 
age a  traffic  so  beneficial  to  the  nation,"  seems  to  have  been  the 
settled  policy  of  England  up  to  the  period  of  our  Revolution. 
Indeed,  "the  inhuman  use  of  the  royal  negative"  against  the 
action  of  the  colonies  upon  this  subject  is  specified  in  the  very 
first  clause  of  the  original  Virginia  Constitution  as  a  reason  of 
her  separation  from  the  mother  country;  and  the  first  Assembly 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  prohibited  the  traffic. 

Nor  let  it  be  forgotten  that  the  United  States  government 
interdicted  the  trade  from  her  ports  thirteen  years  before  Great 
Britain  did ;  that  she  made  it  punishable  as  a  crime  seven  years 
before,  and  that  she  fixed  the  period  of  nonimportation  while 
Britain  was  still  allowing  and  encouraging  it  in  her  colonies;  and 
that  Northern  ships  and  capital  were  deeply  interested  in  the 
trade.  Thus  to  old  England  and  New  England  the  South  al- 
most wholly  owed  her  slaves,  and  but  for  Southern  opposition 
to  their  "capture"  and  the  horrors  of  "the  middle  passage,"  the 
African  slave  trade  would  not  have  been  so  soon  abolished. 

Sympathizing  with  the  prevailing  feeling  upon  this  subject, 
Mr.  McKendree  was  decidedly  opposed  to  the  slave  trade. 
Humanity  and  religion  branded  it  as  cruel  and  odious.  Mr. 
Wesley  and  all  the  early  preachers  whom  he  sent  to  America 
were  conscientiously  and  openly  in  opposition  both  to  the 
"  trade  "  and  the  relation  of  slavery.  The  number  of  slaves  then 
in  the  colonies  was  comparatively  small,  and  it  was  thought 
their  emancipation  was  practicable;  hence,  under  those  influ- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  63 

ences,  many  Methodists  in  the  slave  regions  felt  constrained  to 
evince  their  sense  of  the  injustice  of  capturing  and  enslaving  the 
unfortunate  Africans  by  emancipating  all  they  owned.  In 
this  way  thousands  were  restored  to  nominal  freedom.  As  the 
number  of  slaves  increased  and  the  difficulties  of  the  effort  be- 
came more  and  more  evident,  this  first  strong  emotion  was,  in 
a  degree,  repressed  by  reflecting  upon  the  impossibility  of  re- 
storing them  to  their  native  home  in  Africa,  the  miseries  which 
such  a  restoration  would  involve,  their  incapacity  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  rights  of  freemen  here,  and  the  degradation  and 
wretchedness  of  those  upon  whom  the  experiment  had  been 
tried.  Public  sentiment  thus  gradually  settled  down  in  the  un- 
welcome conviction  that  the  relation  was  inevitable,  and  thus 
thousands  who  viewed  the  acts  of  their  capture  and  deportation 
with  horror,  and  who  would  have  done  anything  practicable  to 
prevent  their  introduction  into  America,  finding  the  question 
of  their  emancipation  a  problem  for  which  no  feasible  solution 
had  been  presented  by  statesmen  and  philanthropists,  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  to  those  necessarily  involved  in  the  relation 
of  masters,  the  wiser  and  better  plan  was  to  treat  them  with 
humanity,  give  them  the  advantages  of  the  gospel,  and  await 
the  developments  of  Providence. 

Many,  however,  not  so  familiar  with  the  difficulties  which 
environ  the  subject  and  impelled  by  their  sympathies,  continued 
to  advocate  emancipation  at  whatever  risks  to  society  and  to 
the  slaves  themselves.  Their  consciences  were  implicated,  and 
they  felt  they  must  bear  their  testimony  against  "the  evils  of 
slavery,"  forgetting  that  to  modify  and  control  an  evil  and  to 
make  it  conduce  to  good  is  in  some  cases  the  best  and  only  safe 
remedy  for  it. 

We  have  no  wish  to  conceal  the  fact  that  Mr.  McKendree, 
at  this  period  of  his  life  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  was 
opposed  both  to  slavery  and  the  slave  trade.  Nor  do  we  pretend 
that  he  was  ever  the  advocate  of  the  one  or  the  other.  He  was 
too  intimately  acquainted  with  the  delicate  and  dangerous  na- 
ture of  the  subject,  too  wise  and  prudent,  and,  withal,  loved 
both  his  country  and  the  whole  Church  too  much  to  become  at 
any  period  of  his  life  a  public  and  violent  agitator  of  this  ques- 
tion. He  was  opposed  to  becoming  the  owner  of  slaves,  and  no 
doubt  would  have  set  them  free  if  his  father  had  given  him  any. 
When  he  wrote  the  words  quoted  above,  doubtless  he  was  at 
heart  an  emancipationist,  as  were  most  of  his  colleagues  and 
friends.  Jfe  \ftas  such  uppn  principle;  and  if  maturer  years, 


64  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

more  extended  observation,  and  a  riper  judgment  affected  any 
change  in  his  views  and  feelings  upon  the  subject,  which  is  said 
and  believed  to  have  been  the  case,  such  a  change  implied 
nothing  inconsistent  with  the  purest  and  most  disinterested 
emotions  of  Christian  philanthropy.  It  was  not  that  he  loved 
the  slave  less,  or  less  detested  the  slave  trade,  or  that  he  was 
more  a  friend  of  slavery,  but  that  he  became  more  sensible  of  the 
fact  that  the  highest  interests  of  all  concerned  made  it  his  duty 
to  refrain  from  the  agitation  of  the  question.  Nothing  is  more 
evident  than  that  in  his  later  years  the  agitation  of  this  sub- 
ject in  the  Church  deeply  disquieted  and  distressed  his  heart. 
Slavery  he  regarded,  as  it  existed  in  the  South,  an  infinitely  less 
evil  than  civil  war  and  ecclesiastical  strife.  He  was  born  and 
brought  up  amidst  slaves;  his  parents  and  all  his  nearest  kindred 
were  owners  of  them.  He  had  witnessed  the  growth  of  the  slave 
population,  had  seen  the  effects  of  slavery,  and  of  emancipation, 
both  in  the  free  and  the  slave  States;  every  plan  which  human 
ingenuity  had  devised  for  "the  extirpation  of  the  great  evil  of 
slavery,"  he  had  duly  considered;  and  with  his  ample  sources  of 
information  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  under  his  surround- 
ings it  was  best  for  him,  in  view  of  all  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
involved,  to  let  the  subject  alone,  except  in  so  far  as  he  was 
bound  by  the  Word  of  God  to  insist  upon  the  duties  pertaining 
to  the  relation  of  both  the  master  and  the  slave.  As  an  evidence 
of  the  modification  of  his  sentiments  on  this  question,  by  more 
extended  observation,  when  his  growing  infirmities  rendered  it 
necessary  that  he  should  have  a  servant  to  attend  upon  him,  he 
consulted  with  his  friends,  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  L.  P.  Green  and  Mr. 
Elijah  Boddie,  about  the  propriety  of  purchasing  a  servant  for 
this  purpose;  but  they  dissuaded  him  from  it,  and  he  dropped 
the  subject. 

Justice  to  him  demands  that  we  add  that  since  our  acquaint- 
ance with  him  began  until  his  death,  he  was  the  fast  friend  of 
colonization,  not  with  the  expectation  that  by  this  means  they 
would  all  be  speedily  transferred  to  Africa,  but  that  the  free 
colored  people  might  find  a  congenial  home  and  become  instru- 
mental in  evangelizing  their  fatherland. 

Such  was  the  consistent  course  of  the  man  whose  early  Diary 
we  are  tracing,  and  which  closes  his  account  of  himself,  August 
28,  1790,  with  these  characteristic  remarks: 

"I  enjoy  the  testimony  of  an  inoffensive  conscience;  and  this 
is  my  continual  rejoicing,  'that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity 
I  have  had  my  conversation  in  the  world." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  65 

Having  been  directed  by  his  presiding  elder  to  exchange  work 
with  another  preacher,  he  notices  the  fact  in  his  Diary,  and  con- 
fesses his  reluctance  to  do  so  because  of  the  strong  mutual 
attachment  which  knit  him  and  his  charge  together.  To  one 
so  constitutionally  modest  and  retiring  as  he  was  known  to  be, 
and  as  he  was  to  a  peculiar  degree  in  his  early  ministry,  it  must 
ever  have  been  an  affliction  to  leave  a  devoted  circle  of  friends 
and  brethren  and  go  amidst  strangers.  Yet  he  hesitated  not, 
it  was  the  custom  of  the  times,  and  he  was  not  a  man  likely 
to  innovate  the  rules  he  had  promised  to  keep  or  to  claim  a 
personal  exemption  from  a  common  duty. 

"Sunday,  August  29,  1790. — With  a  heaven  of  peace  in  my 
soul,  I  preached  at  B.  meetinghouse,  from  Proverbs  i.  12-26. 
The  power  of  the  Lord  came  upon  me,  and  his  word  was  like  fire 
shut  up  in  my  bones.  Some  hard  hearts  trembled,  others  ran 
from  the  power.  This  is  the  way  the  devil  keeps  possession  of 
the  people  here,  as  soon  as  the  power  is  displayed,  he  leads  the 
sinners  off.  I  went  after  them,  but  they  bristled  up  in  a  bunch 
and  opposed  and  condemned  the  work.  I  reasoned  with  them 
until  they  were  softened  and  begged  them,  if  they  condemned 
me,  at  any  rate  to  spare  the  prophets,  the  apostles,  and  Jesus 
Christ.  I  then  drew  vouchers  from  the  Scriptures,  which  made 
them  look  about.  I  further  said:  'You  think  I  am  wrong,  and 
I  think  you  are  not  right;  but  God  knows  who  is  right,  and  he 
will  presently  judge  us  all,  and  I  know  Jesus  is  in  my  soul.'  I 
then  began  to  shout,  and  they  turned  pale,  kindly  shook  my 
hand,  and  bade  me  godspeed." 

God  forbid  that  the  time  shall  ever  occur  in  the  history  of 
Methodism  when  the  preachers  shall  cease  to  feel  the  holy  fire 
which  glowed  in  the  heart  of  young  McKendree  or  become 
ashamed  to  defend  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit!  Should  such, 
unfortunately,  ever  take  place,  then,  however  learned  and 
eloquent  they  may  be,  however  numerous,  rich,  and  respectable 
our  membership  may  become,  the  "power"  will  depart  from  us, 
revivals  cease,  and  the  divine  Shekinah  will  no  longer  gleam 
upon  our  altar.  God  of  our  fathers,  give  us  poverty,  reproach, 
and  persecution  rather  than  this!  Take  not  from  us  an  earnest, 
spiritual,  and  faithful  ministry,  with  those  demonstrations  of 
our  divine  calling  which  our  fathers  enjoyed  in  the  conversion 
of  sinners  and  the  sanctification  of  believers !  Let  thy  "  power  " 
abide  with  us  to  the  end  of  time! 

Omitting  to  notice  the  details  of  the  succeeding  week,  as  given 
in  his  Diary,  evincing  constant  toil  and  much  holy  joy,  we 
5 


66  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

anxiously  follow  him  to  his  new  field  of  labor.  Here  is  his  ac- 
count of  his  introduction  to  his  new  charge: 

''Sunday,  September  5,  1790. — Took  my  new  circuit,  at  N. 
Tavern,  preached  to  a  pretty  serious  and  attentive  people,  but 
strangers  to  me.  After  meeting  I  felt,  for  a  little  while,  like  I 
must  make  application  for  some  place  to  lay  my  head;  but  be- 
fore I  did  so,  a  very  genteel  person  stepped  forward  and  gave  me 
an  invitation.  I  thankfully  accepted  the  offer  and  soon  found  it 
was  to  a  lawyer's,  one  of  the  first  families.  The  sweetness  of 
this  people's  spirit  has  entirely  won  me.  I  am  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  good  breeding  is  an  accomplishment  next  to 
grace.  Instead  of  leaving  the  room  to  avoid  the  presence  of  the 
preacher,  they  give  me  their  company  when  I  can  spare  time 
from  retirement  and  introduce  subjects  for  conversation  which 
interest  and  instruct.  Indeed,  they  so  won  my  affection  that 
when  I  took  my  evening  walk,  I  felt  deeply  engaged  for  them, 
and  cried  out:  '0  Lord,  give  me  this  people!'  0  that  I  may 
meet  every  member  of  this  precious  family  in  the  kingdom  of 
glory!  Amen." 

This  was  a  very  good  beginning,  and  the  new  circuit  seems 
to  have  been  one. of  more  refinement  and  intelligence  than  the 
old  one.  Will  our  youthful  soldier  find  himself  relaxing  in 
self-denial,  simplicity,  and  zeal  now  that  he  is  mingling  with  the 
more  polished  and  wealthy  portion  of  society?  What  happened 
to  the  victorious  followers  of  Hannibal  after  the  battle  of  Can- 
nae has  often  since  occurred  to  the  young  soldier  of  the  cross, 
and  hundreds  of  preachers  who  had  won  favor  by  their  zeal, 
simplicity,  and  devotion  to  their  Master  have  been  ruined  by 
prosperity,  smiles,  and  flattery.  Not  such,  however,  was  his 
fate;  the  secret  of  his  strength  in  resisting  these  influences  will 
be  found  in  the  divine  grace,  which  he  sought  with  great  hu- 
mility and  constant  self-denial  and  in  his  unceasing  labors  in  the 
ministry. 

The  succeeding  week  he  seems  to  have  suffered  a  good  deal 
from  an  attack  of  fever  and  ague;  but  on  Monday,  September 
13,  he  resumes  his  Diary: 

"Remained  poorly,  but  traveled  and  strove  to  preach;  have 
had  lovely  meetings,  Christians  in  a  flame.  My  exercises  have 
been  various.  I  want  to  serve  God  with  all  my  soul  and  dedi- 
cate all  my  gifts  and  substance  to  the  Lord.  But  O,  I  do  often 
see  and  feel  my  failures  and  set  out  afresh  to  amend,  yet  have 
to  mourn  that  I  am  not  what  I  ought  to  be!  My  example  is  not 
so  reserved  and  holy  as  it  ought  to  be!  How  unbecoming  for  a 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  67 

Christian,  especially  a  Christian  minister,  to  laugh!  0  Lord, 
thou  that  seest  me  now  while  writing  and  knowest  how  I  want 
to  love  thee  with  all  my  heart  and  serve  thee  with  all  my 
strength,  pardon  my  misgivings,  pity  my  weaknesses,  and 
graciously  restore  me  to  the  strength  of  'a  perfect  man  in  Christ 
Jesus' !  Endear  thyself  to  me,  0  Lord,  until  I  shall  be  inflamed 
with  love  and  be  ready  to  lay  down  my  life  for  thee  at  any 
time!  Lord  grant  it!  Amen." 

Let  his  sons  in  the  gospel  read  and  consider  the  following 
language  in  his  Diary,  dated  Thursday,  September  16,  1790: 

"Preached,  much  life  and  activity  in  religion,  and  pressed 
the  subject  of  holiness  with  much  diligence.  Some  proclaimed 
their  fresh  resolutions  to  go  forward  and  acknowledged  former 
backslidings.  I  felt  the  weight  of  St.  Paul's  language,  lest  after 
'  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  castaway/  0 
what  dangers  I  see  in  a  preacher's  resting  in  merely  talking 
about  and  pressing  it  upon  others  and  yet  for  want  of  spiritual 
exertions  and  repeated  fastings,  he  may  be  losing  the  power  of 
religion  in  his  own  soul !  0  Lord,  while  I  minister  to  others,  I 
pray  thee  give  me  to  eat  and  live  of  'the  things  of  the  altar/ 
lest  I  die!  1  Corinthians  ix.  13." 

Daily  self-denail,  frequent,  fervent,  and  protracted  prayer, 
"in  fastings  often,"  "preaching  the  word  in  season  and  out  of 
season,"  reproving,  rebuking,  exhorting,  as  "need  required  and 
occasion  was  given,"  combined  with  a  constant  study  of  the 
Bible  and  devout  meditation  were  the  means  by  which  our 
fathers  in  the  ministry  "wrought  wonders."  Their  preaching 
was  plain  and  in  faith,  they  felt  the  force  of  the  momentous 
truths  which  they  uttered.  They  realized  the  presence  of  God, 
and  expected  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  attend  the  divinely 
appointed  means.  They  looked  for  present  effects,  and  they 
were  not  disappointed.  Sinners  were  convicted  and  converted 
under  the  Word,  and  the  lukewarm  and  self-satisfied  were 
stimulated  to  seek  for  holiness.  God  honored  the  men  by  giving 
them  the  signs  and  seal  of  his  favor  who  honored  him  by  their 
confidence  in  his  truth  and  power.  So  it  has  ever  been,  and  so 
it  will  be  to  the  end  of  time. 

We  give  the  following  quotation  as  another  instance  of  the 
course  he  pursued: 

"Saturday,  September  18. — Rose  early.  After  morning  devo- 
tion and  family  prayer,  I  returned  to  my  room  and  read  five 
chapters  in  Deuteronomy  on  my  knees,  praying  fervently 
every  five  verses  for  the  Spirit  and  life  of  the  Word.  Precious 


68  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  awful  meditations  rolled  through  my  mind.  I  turned  my 
eyes,  and  behold,  all  under  the  sun  is  'vanity';  hence  the  con- 
clusion that  true  religion  and  good  health  are  the  greatest 
blessings  on  earth." 

He  adds,  at  the  close  of  the  day:  "This  being  watch  night, 
and  having  to  watch  alone,  I  went  to  my  room.  After  prayers 
for  the  band  connection,  fell  to  reading  the  'Saints'  Rest';  and 
really,  before  I  got  through  the  account  of  '  the  hinderances  to 
heavenly  mindedness,'  my  heart  ached.  I  wrestled  and  begged 
the  Lord  for  power  over  my  last  enemy.  I  mourned  my  time 
out  and  went  to  bed  pained  and  distressed  for  more  of  God." 

The  reader  doubtless  understands  here  the  allusions  to  the 
band  society  and  the  custom  of  its  members  to  pray  for  each 
other  at  stated  times,  and  also  to  the  watch  night  usage,  which 
required  its  members  to  devote  the  night,  at  least  until  after 
twelve  o'clock,  to  devotion. 


CHAPTER  VI 

McKendree's  Diary — Fasting — Reproof — Mr.  O'Kelly  attacks  the  Coun- 
cil— His  course — Itinerancy — Tobacco — Preparation  for  preaching — 
Selecting  and  changing  texts — Different  kinds  of  style — The  kind  for 
the  pulpit — O'Kelly's  Convention — The  regular  Council — Mr.  Asbury 
gives  it  up — McKendree  visits  his  father — Meets  Bishop  Asbury — Is  de- 
lighted— Mr.  Wesley's  death — Dr.  Coke  goes  to  England — McKendree 
ordained  elder,  December  25,  1791. 

As  the  Diary  of  Mr.  McKendree  embraces  but  a  short  period 
of  his  useful  life  and  may  be  interesting  and  edifying  to  many 
or  our  readers,  we  subjoin  further  extracts: 

"  Wednesday,  September  22,  1790. — Early  in  the  morning 
spent  an  hour  on  my  knees  in  fervent  prayer,  reading  God's 
Word,  and  praising  my  adorable  Saviour.  It  was  a  time  of 
heavenly  joys  to  my  soul.  From  10  A.M.  to  half  past  one 
o'clock,  I  spent  in  a  lonely,  awful  swamp  in  wrestling,  agonizing 
prayer.  But  surely  God  and  his  holy  ones  were  all  around  me, 
heaven  burst  into  my  bosom,  and  glory  filled  my  soul." 

Again:  "O  how  sweet  is  Christian  fellowship  below!  Blessed 
be  God  for  the  uniting  spirit  of  love  I  feel  to  Jesus  and  his 
people!  0  blessed  be  God  that  ever  he  formed  a  militant 
Church !  Glory  to  his  name  that  he  ever  received  such  a  poor 
unworthy  worm  as  I  into  his  Church  privileges!  How  I  am 
blessed!  'I  had  rather  be  a  door  keeper  in  the  house  of  my 
God  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness;'  that  I  would." 

The  practice  of  fasting  at  regular  periods,  it  is  feared,  is,  like 
some  other  very  excellent  usages  among  the  old  Methodists, 
becoming  less  strictly  observed  of  late  than  formerly.  Then 
the  habit,  among  the  preachers  especially,  was  to  fast  every 
Friday — some  added  Tuesday — and  those  who  were  too  feeble 
to  fast  throughout  the  entire  day  abstained  until  evening.  The 
quarterly  fasts  were  kept  by  all  the  members.  Mr.  McKendree 
was  punctual  and  rigid  in  all  these  observances.  Hence  he  says: 

"Friday,  September  24. — Having  to  ride  fifteen  miles  and 
preach,  I  had  some  temptations  to  breakfast,  but  resisted  them; 
and  though  I  suffered  on  account  of  abstinence,  yet  the  cross 
vanished,  and  I  suffered  less  than  usual  on  my  fast  days.  Praise 
and  power,  honor  and  glory  to  God !  He  has  not  forgotten  to  be 
gracious,  but  made  one  in  our  midst.  The  meeting  lasted  four 


70  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

hours,  when  one  of  the  mourners  sprang  up,  praising  God  for 
snatching  him  as  'a  brand  from  the  burning.'  0  how  like 
heaven  is  the  place  where  God  revives  his  work!" 

Sunday,  September  26,  seems  to  have  been  to  him  a  day  of 
some  labor  and  trial.  He  preached  to  a  "number  of  professors " 
of  religion,  "pressing  the  subject  of  holiness"  upon  them;  but 
it  was  found  impossible  to  engage  their  attention,  and  he  inti- 
mates that  the  indifference  was  owing  to  an  increasing  spirit  of 
formality.  Indeed,  so  dissatisfied  was  he  with  the  result  of  his 
efforts  and  with  the  subsequent  idle  and  worldly  conversation 
of  the  members,  that  he  could  not  eat  his  dinner,  but  proceeded 
to  Brother  Berryman's,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  expecting 
to  meet  his  presiding  elder,  J.  O'Kelly.  In  this  hope,  however, 
he  was  disappointed,  although  he  found  Brother  William  Spen- 
cer there,  with  whom  he  enjoyed  sweet  Christian  communion. 
During  the  whole  of  this  Sabbath  afternoon  ride  he  was  harassed 
by  temptations,  nor  found  relief  until  shortly  before  he  reached 
his  destination.  He  had  preached  and  held  class  meeting  in  the 
forenoon,  and  left  the  house  of  his  friend,  who  had  invited  him- 
to  dinner,  not  only  without  eating,  but  sorely  vexed.  His  ride 
was  fatiguing.  He  found  Brother  Spencer  "shut  up  in  a  little 
room  and  very  sick,"  and  the  brethren  already  collected  there 
for  meeting.  To  add  to  his  excitement  against  worldly  minded- 
ness  in  the  Church,  poor  Spencer  complained  bitterly  against 
the  trifling  conversation  of  those  who  had  assembled.  Hence 
Mr.  McKendree,  having  "to  hold  meeting,"  took  occasion  to 
lecture  pointedly  upon  Sabbath  breaking  and  levity  of  deport- 
ment." The  offenders  hung  down  their  heads;  some  were  very 
penitent,  while  Brother  Spencer  and  himself  "were  refreshed 
and  comforted."  To  reprove  sin  is  sometimes  as  much  a  duty  as 
to  proclaim  glad  tidings  and  not  unfrequently  requires  far  more 
moral  courage,  for  while  no  one  ever  so  delighted  to  comfort  and 
bless  men  as  did  ouf  divine  Master,  yet  even  he  occasionally 
dealt  in  anathemas,  until  a  stranger  might  have  supposed  that 
he  never  used  any  other  trumpet  than  that  of  "cursing."  But 
alas  for  frail  humanity !  How  slight  an  incident  may  give  a  tinge 
to  our  emotions,  and  how  often  do  we  mistake  the  suggestions 
of  our  own  morbid  sensibilities  for  the  impulses  of  duty!  "Ye 
know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of"  was  the  Saviour's 
reply  to  the  prayer  for  fire  to  consume  a  village  which  had  re- 
fused to  receive  him.  He  turned  and  rebuked  his  disciples  and 
quietly  went  to  another  village.  How  perfect  the  portraiture 
of  heavenly  excellence  is  Christ's  character  as  exhibited  in  the 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  71 

Bible!  He  was  more  afflicted  by  the  wrong  temper  of  his  dis- 
ciples than  by  the  disrespect  shown  himself,  and  felt  that  it  was 
more  important  they  should  be  right  than  that  he  should  be 
popular.  Wrong  actions  in  others  do  not  justify  wrong  tempers 
in  us;  for  if  Christ's  ministers  continue  right,  the  errors  of  the 
world  may  at  last  be  corrected;  but  if  they  go  astray,  the  re- 
covery of  the  world  is  hopeless.  Doubtless  Mr.  McKendree 
but  discharged  a  pastoral  duty  in  the  rebuke  he  administered 
in  this  case,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  while  he  performed  a 
painful  duty,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done  was  also  right. 
On  the  next  day — i.  e.,  Monday,  September  27 — Mr.  0' Kel- 
ly, the  presiding  elder,  came,  and  preached  on  John  xvii.  7: 
"Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy  word  is  truth."  "He 
opened  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  to  my  great  satisfaction. 
In  his  first  head  of  doctrine,  which  was  to  show  for  whom 
Christ  prayed,  the  people  seemed  sweetly  happy;  but  in  the 
second,  which  was  to  show  why  his  prayer  is  not  answered  and 
what  sanctification  is,  the  congregation  became  unfeeling.  We 
had  a  melting  time  at  sacrament,  and  then  the  poor  miserable 
council  took  up  all  our  time  until  ten  o'clock  at  night."  Alas 
for  Mr.  0' Kelly!  Again  at  the  miserable  work  of  prejudicing 
the  young  preachers  placed  under  his  charge  against  the  very 
measure  for  which  he  had  voted  in  General  Conference;  and 
doubtless  inveighing  against  the  motives  and  administration  of 
the  honest,  laborious,  and  unselfish  Asbury;  drilling  his  inex- 
perienced and  unsuspecting  "young  men  to  throw  the  whole 
affair  out"  at  the  approaching  Conference,  and  thus  covertly 
laying  the  train  whose  explosion  was  to  rend  the  Conference 
and  the  Church!  Yet  even  this  unsuspecting  young  preacher, 
who  had  been  introduced  into  Conference  by  him,  out  of  whose 
district  he  had  never  traveled,  and  to  whom  he  looked  up  as  to 
a  model  minister  and  Christian  gentleman,  even  he  is  disgusted 
and  worried  with  the  oft-repeated  introduction  of  the  subject. 
What  a  poor  return  does  Mr.  0' Kelly  make  to  Bishop  Asbury 
and  the  Church  for  the  confidence  and  respect  they  evince  in 
giving  him  a  position  which  he  employs  to  their  injury!  Unac- 
quainted with  the  bishop,  inexperienced  in  the  wiles  of  ambition 
or  the  feelings  of  jealousy,  and  comparatively  ignorant  of  the 
government  of  the  Church,  our  young  preacher's  guileless  heart 
and  earnest  piety  are  not  proof  against  such  influences.  In- 
deed, his  very  love  of  the  Church  stimulates  to  a  more  intense 
dislike  of  the  man  he  is  taught  to  regard  as  a  tyrant.  Mr. 
O'Kelly  was  a  hot  emancipationist.  Sanctification  was  his 


72  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

theme  in  the  pulpit  and  detraction  of  Mr.  Asbury  his  employ- 
ment out  of  it.  Like  most  ambitious  and  disappointed  men,  he 
had  a  high  appreciation  of  his  own  importance,  and  fault- 
finding and  defamation  seem  to  have  been  henceforth  his 
daily  work  until  he  seceded.  The  wonder  is  that  he  did  not  ruin 
more  of  the  young  preachers  than  he  did;  perhaps  their  very 
ingenuousness  and  honesty  of  heart,  which  he  abused  to  preju- 
dice them  against  Bishop  Asbury,  were  the  means  of  their  being 
disabused  when  they  came  to  know  him  better.  Surely,  what- 
ever diversities  of  opinion  may  exist  upon  other  topics  between 
the  different  organizations  of  the  great  Methodist  family  in 
America,  they  must  ever  agree  and  attest  that  Francis  Asbury 
was,  under  God,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  to  them  all. 

In  a  few  days,  however,  Mr.  O'Kelly  left  the  circuit,  and  Mr. 
McKendree  resumed  his  labors.  He  confesses  that  he  felt  less 
inclination  for  his  duties,  "and  very  much  concerned  about  the 
present  aspect  of  our  Church  government."  Left  to  himself 
and  continuing  his  course  of  study  and  labor,  his  sky  soon  be- 
came bright  again;  for  shortly  afterwards  we  find  him  saying 
of  an  appointment  which  he  reached  with  great  difficulty: 
"  In  the  first  prayer  my  soul  caught  fire;  felt  light,  life,  and  power 
in  preaching;  the  place  fairly  trembled  with  the  engagedness  of 
the  people;  Christians  shouted  and  sinners  wept."  Of  course 
he  held  a  class  meeting. 

"The  people  went  out  for  class  meeting,  but  before  the  door 
was  shut,  some  came  back  into  the  house.  I  talked  with  them, 
and  they  resolved  to  seek  the  Lord.  We  had  a  sweet  meeting, 
blessed  be  God !  I  hope  the  labor  of  this  day  is  not  in  vain.  I 
feel  complete  victory  in  my  own  soul,  thanks  be  to  the  Lord ! " 

The  itinerant  system  of  preaching  is  of  divine  appointment, 
and  unquestionably  John  Wesley  and  his  sons  in  the  gospel 
may  justly  claim  in  this  respect  to  be  in  the  "apostolic  succes- 
sion." The  great  Master  traveled  and  preached.  His  last  com- 
mand was,  "Go;"  and  "as  ye  go,  preach."  "And  they  went 
forth  and  preached  everywhere,  the  Lord  working  with  them." 
Christ  had  promised  to  "be  with  them  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  He  was  with  them,  and  has  ever  been  with  their 
faithful  successors  in  doctrine,  experience,  and  labors.  This 
system  is  not  only  necessary  as  a  means  of  diffusing  the 
Word  of  life  among  all  the  scattered  population  of  the  globe, 
but  it  is  the  great  school  for  training  and  perpetuating  an 
efficient  and  holy  ministry.  Without  it,  the  world  would  be 
much  poorer  and  the  Church  would  suffer  an  irreparable  loss. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  73 

True,  it  is  a  system  often  involving  exile  from  "father  and  moth- 
er, brother  and  sister,  houses  and  lands,  wife  and  children;"  it 
devolves  labor,  care,  and,  not  unfrequently,  affliction  and  pov- 
erty upon  those  who  engage  in  it,  and  sometimes  even  the  loss 
of  life  itself;  but  it  must  never  be  abandoned.  No  cost  is  too 
great  which  is  necessary  to  spread  "the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God,"  and  "save  the  souls  for  whom  Christ  died."  The 
richest  gems,  the  brightest  intellects,  the  most  precious  lives,  the 
hardest  labors,  and  greatest  sacrifices  find  their  safest  and  best 
investment  in  this  godlike  work.  If  archangels  were  permitted 
to  assume  our  form  for  a  season  and  select  their  vocations,  they 
would  become  traveling  ministers.  They  would  leave  to  others 
to  be  kings,  statesmen,  generals,  philosophers,  and  jurists,  and, 
like  their  and  our  great  Lord,  throw  all  their  time  and  energies 
into  the  harvest  field,  where  souls  are  reaped  for  the  heavenly 
garner.  Nor  would  they  care  much  whether  their  fields  of  op- 
eration might  be  rich  or  poor,  refined  or  rustic;  if  they  might 
have  any  preference,  it  would  be  for  the  places  where  their 
labor  might  be  most  needed  and  most  effective. 

The  emotions  of  the  "good  and  faithful"  itinerant  preacher 
are  various  and  peculiar.  Impelled  by  a  conviction  of  duty 
which  will  not  allow  of  indolence  or  silence,  trembling  under  a 
sense  of  the  delicacy  and  responsibility  of  the  ministerial  office, 
deeply  and  even  painfully  sensible  of  his  want  of  qualification 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  its  various  duties,  and,  sometimes, 
almost  overwhelmed  with  the  discouragements  and  trials  pe- 
culiar to  the  itinerant  pastor's  work,  he  needs  and  must  have  a 
frequent  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  sustain  him.  And  while 
a  consciousness  of  his  personal  acceptance  with  God  and  a  con- 
viction that  the  path  in  which  he  is  treading,  although  often 
rugged  and  thorny,  is  nevertheless  the  way  of  duty  may  enable 
him  to  bear  "the  burden  of  the  Lord"  bravely  and  cheerfully; 
yet  when  he  sees  no  fruit  of  all  his  toils  and  cares,  but  meets 
with  indifference  among  the  unconverted  and  neglect  on  the 
part  of  his  members,  ah,  then  he  must  have  a  firm  faith  in  the 
truth  of  God's  promises,  or  he  will  falter  in  his  course.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  when  a  soothing  manifestation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  given  him  and  the  seal  of  divine  approval  attests  his 
call  to  the  ministry  in  the  conversion  and  sanctification  of  souls, 
who  so  happy  as  he?  Then  he  feels  that  the  longest  life  is  too 
short  and  his  utmost  energies  too  small  a  contribution  to  so  great 
and  glorious  a  work.  Such  were  the  struggles  and  such  the 
triumphs  of  young  McKendree,  and  such  has  been  the  history 


74  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  many  a  humble,  laborious  traveling  preacher,  who,  like 
him,  lived  to  work  for  God  and  souls  until  he  died  to  rest  forever. 

The  next  quotation  illustrates  his  zeal  and  evinces  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  "needless  self-indulgence"  of  the  use  of  tobacco,  an 
opposition  which  he  maintained  through  life. 

"  Thursday,  September  SO,  1 790.— Rode  to  Brother  Andrews's 
and  met  a  few  people.  The  Christians  were  not  engaged,  and 
the  sinners  looked  impudently  wicked.  I  strove  to  be  faithful 
and  was  plain  in  class  meeting.  Some  seemed  a  little  moved, 
but  so  soon  as  meeting  was  over  and  they  were  out  of  class,  one 
had  a  pipe,  another  was  after  a  chew  of  tobacco,  and  the  women 
with  their  snuffboxes  until  my  soul  was  grieved." 

"Preparation  for  the  pulpit"  is  frequently  talked  about, 
both  among  preachers  and  others;  and  assuredly  every  preacher 
should  "study  to  show  himself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of 
truth."  For  this  purpose  he  should  read  and  inwardly  digest 
such  books  as  may  conduce  to  this  end,  and  by  no  means  be 
guilty  of  the  presumption  of  supposing  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
will  as  readily  give  his  sanction  to  an  undigested  ebullition  of 
fancy  and  rant  as  to  those  sermons  which  are  the  result  of  pro- 
found and  pious  study.  But  there  is  one  kind  of  preparation 
for  which  our  early  preachers  were  remarkable,  and  to  which, 
under  God,  they  were  to  a  great  degree  indebted  for  their 
wonderful  success  in  winning  souls;  a  preparation  for  which 
neither  learning  nor  eloquence — nay,  nor  every  possible  literary 
and  mental  accomplishment — affords  a  substitute.  Of  course 
it  is  the  preparation  of  the  heart  and  soul.  The  following  quo- 
tation from  his  Diary  shows  how  the  subject  of  this  biography 
sought  this  qualification: 

"October  2. — Being  already  at  my  preaching  place  since  eight 
o'clock,  I  have  been  with  Jesus  in  his  beautiful  forest  in  deep 
exercise.  My  book  is  sweeter  than  common.  0  what  spirit  I 
find  in  the  Word  of  the  Lord!  I  read  it  much  and  with  great 
delight,  often  on  my  knees.  I  take  my  flight  on  wings  of  faith 
and  love  still  mounting  higher  to  the  celestial  world.  One-half 
hour  humbly  prostrate  on  my  face  to  converse  with  eternity! 
And  such  deep  views  and  bright  conceptions  of  eternal  things 
I  never  had  before  in  all  my  life.  But  I  must  go;  the  congrega- 
tion is  assembled,  and  my  watch  says  eight  minutes  to  twelve 
o'clock.  Farewell,  sweet  and  solemn  place!  Lord  Jesus,  go 
with  me!  Amen.  Amen." 

And  is  it  surprising  that  He  who  promised,  "Lo,  I  am  with 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  75 

you,"  should  verify  his  promise  to  such  a  minister?  The  Lord 
Jesus  was  with  him — blessed  his  labors,  honored  him  with  a  long 
and  useful  life,  and,  after  enabling  him  to  exhibit  a  consistent 
example  and  adorn  various  offices  in  the  ministry,  dismissed  him 
from  earth  and  received  him  to  himself.  Should  the  example 
of  this  holy  man  be  the  means  of  perpetuating  his  spiritual, 
self-denying,  and  laborious  course  among  his  sons  in  the  gospel, 
the  writer's  highest  desire  will  have  been  attained  in  preparing 
this  work  for  the  press.  May  they  at  least  ever  remember  that 
nothing  can  supersede  the  necessity  of  preparing  their  hearts 
and  souls  for  the  pulpit  by  devout  reading  and  study  of  the 
Bible,  fervent  and  frequent  prayer,  self-examination,  and  holy 
meditation!  We  do  not  depreciate  the  highest  mental  training, 
the  higher  the  better;  but  without  this  spiritual  preparation  the 
highest  is  far  too  low  for  that  service  in  which  "we  are  workers 
together  with  God." 

The  following  week  was  devoted  to  preaching,  visiting  the 
sick,  and  his  usual  routine  of  religious  exercises.  Twice  during 
the  time  he  preached  to  congregations  of  colored  people  and  was 
much  gratified  both  by  the  opportunity  and  the  effect.  He  ex- 
presses surprise  and  gratitude  for  the  cordial  hospitality  he 
received,  and  particularly  for  the  solicitude  evinced  by  the 
wealthy  and  intelligent  but  unconverted  for  his  company; 
thinks  it  an  omen  for  good,  and  resolves  to  use  it  for  their 
spiritual  welfare.  "Visited  Mr.  Hardy,  who  was  very  ill,  'of 
a  long  hard  fever,'  and  being  invited  to  preach  to  those  who 
waited  on  the  sick,  gladly  embraced  the  opportunity  and  ad- 
dressed them  from  'Ye  must  be  born  again.'" 

He  notices  the  following  incident  as  occurring  this  week.  It 
seems  that  Robert  Green,  preacher  on  Calvert  Circuit,  had 
visited  Mr.  McKendree's  circuit  and  preached  at  one  of  his 
meetinghouses  the  day  before.  "I  had  fixed  my  mind  upon  a 
text  in  the  morning,  but  while  going  into  the  house  my  mind  be- 
gan to  float.  During  singing,  my  subject  became  entirely 
foreign  to  my  feelings,  and  another  presented  itself  to  my  mind. 
I  took  it  and,  blessed  be  the  Lord,  I  felt  a  tolerable  degree  of 
liberty,  and  my  own  soul  was  comforted.  After  meeting  was 
over,  I  told  Brother  Green  my  exercises  concerning  the  text, 
when  he  replied:  'The  text  you  lost  I  preached  from  here  yester- 
day.'" 

The  plan  of  selecting  a  text  as  soon  as  possible,  and  always 
after  prayer  and  proper  reflection  upon  the  character  and  con- 
dition of  the  audience,  is  certainly  judicious;  nor  should  it  be 


76  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

changed,  after  it  has  been  maturely  considered,  for  a  mere 
whim;  yet  every  preacher,  except  perhaps  those  who  read  their 
sermons  or  deliver  them  from  memory  (and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
their  number  among  us  is  small)  will  occasionally  find  himself 
afloat  (boatman's  phrase)  and  have  to  fasten  to  another  text. 
Sometimes  the  subject  is  found  inappropriate  to  the  audience, 
but  more  frequently,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  McKendree,  it  be- 
comes tame  to  the  feelings,  or  partially  beclouded.  Then 
another  theme  presents  itself  with  more  vividness  to  the  mind, 
and  the  change  is  effected.  But  let  the  young  preacher  beware 
lest  he  fall  into  Charybdis  in  avoiding  Scylla;  for  it  does  not 
follow  because  one  thought  associated  with  the  new  text  may 
strike  his  fancy  or  because  it  may  seem  to  be  a  more  impressive 
theme  that  he  will  be  more  likely  to  discuss  it  profitably.  Too 
many  choose  their  texts  as  silly  men  do  their  wives,  for  subjects 
have  their  drapery  as  well  as  persons.  The  first  business  of  the 
preacher  is  to  give  the  meaning  of  God's  Word.  He  should 
therefore  seek  to  find  out  the  import  of  his  text,  and  then  deter- 
mine whether  the  lessons  he  can  fairly  deduce  from  it  are  likely 
to  be  appropriate  and  useful  to  his  audience.  In  most  cases  the 
extemporaneous  preacher  who  has  studied  and  matured  his 
subject  without  having  memorized  it  has  a  decided  advantage. 
Let  us  not,  however,  be  misunderstood  on  this  subject.  We 
hold  that  every  preacher  should  cultivate  his  memory  and 
chasten  his  style,  and  as  nothing  contributes  to  the  latter  more 
than  the  use  of  the  pen,  of  course  he  should  write  sermons. 
Neither  would  we  object  to  his  memorizing  one  of  his  own  com- 
posing occasionally,  or  to  his  reading  it  on  an  extraordinary 
occasion.  But  such  cases  should  be  exceptions,  the  general  rule 
being  "to  study  the  subject  thoroughly  and  then  depend  upon 
his  resources  for  language  to  express  his  ideas."  In  this  way  he 
will  form  the  habit  of  thinldng  while  extemporizing,  and  at  the 
same  time  all  the  mental  faculties  which  oratory  requires, 
having  been  cultivated  by  previous  study,  will  be  improved  and 
adapted  to  the  occasion.  The  pompous,  the  elaborate,  and  the 
rustic  styles  of  speaking  are  unfit  for  the  pulpit.  The  first  aims 
to  be  impressive,  avoids  short  words  as  a  prudent  man  does 
contagion,  affects  the  sublime,  but  is  simply  ridiculous  and 
seeks  to  carry  the  citadel  by  high-sounding  nonsense.  He  at- 
tempts to  do  a  large  business  on  a  small  capital.  Words,  gestures, 
and  voice  are  his  merchandise,  while  his  stock  of  ideas  is  very 
deficient;  or  if  perchance  he  should  be  heard  to  utter  some  scraps 
of  blank  verse,  a  stanza  of  sonorous  rhyme,  or  a  sentence  or  two 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  77 

a  little  less  magniloquent  than  his  usual  inflated  style,  it  may  be 
taken  for  granted  that  he  is  disingenuously  appropriating  the 
product  of  another's  mind  to  his  own  benefit,  a  species  of  petit 
larceny  not  unfrequent  with  such  speakers  and  for  which  they 
deserve  to  be  impaled  by  public  contempt.  The  second  is  too 
learned  and  philosophic,  too  stiff  and  artistic.  This  is  our 
amateur  preacher.  His  terms  are  refined  and  unusual.  He  em- 
ploys, like  some  young  doctors,  scientific  and  technical  words 
which  common  people  do  not  understand.  He  copies  Plato  and 
Epictetus,  not  St.  Paul  or  St.  Paul's  great  Master.  Such  a 
preacher  may  be  styled  a  "beautiful  speaker,"  "learned," 
and  "elegant,"  and  some  may  be  the  more  impressed  with  his 
greatness  because  they  cannot  understand  him,  and  therefore 
suppose  he  must  be  a  very  deep  man;  but  his  efficiency  is  about 
equal  to  a  beautifully  painted  and  neatly  fashioned  wooden  gun. 
"Verily  he  has  his  reward"  in  the  admiration  of  the  fashionable 
and  silly,  who  applaud  him  as  they  do  their  favorite  actor  at  the 
theater,  though  far  less  warmly,  and  are  benefited  about  as 
much  by  the  performances  of  the  one  as  the  other,  with  this 
marked  difference  as  to  immediate  results,  that  the  one  puts 
them  to  laughing  and  crying  on  Saturday  night  while  the  other 
simply  puts  them  to  sleep  on  Sabbath.  The  third  uses  puns,  wit, 
anecdotes;  confines  himself  to  no  rules  of  rhetoric,  logic,  or 
grammar;  glories  in  thinking  for  himself  and  has  a  contempt 
for  the  pretensions  of  the  first  and  the  prudery  of  the  second 
class. 

The  proper  style  for  the  pulpit  and,  indeed,  for  every  kind  of 
public  speaking  is  such  as  rises  spontaneously  from  the  subject, 
and  it  is  indispensable  that  the  subject  should  be  clearly  con- 
ceived and  deeply  impressed  upon  the  heart.  Then  in  one  of 
a  cultivated  mind  emotion  will  certainly  suggest  appropriate 
language.  Without  passion  there  is  no  true  eloquence,  and 
passion  prompts  to  natural  and  simple  forms  of  expression. 
Sublimity  must  exist  in  the  ideas  or  no  language  can  produce 
them.  The  eloquence  of  our  Saviour  and  of  the  writers  of  the 
sacred  Volume  gives  the  noblest  specimens.  The  most  sublime 
and  important  truths  ever  conceived  are  here  uttered  in  the 
most  simple  words.  And  if  at  any  time  glowing  imagery  is 
employed,  it  results  from  the  fervid  condition  of  the  mind  under 
the  contemplation  of  glorious  and  awful  truths  which  struggle 
for  utterance.  Nor  is  this  vehemence  of  the  mind  incompatible 
with  a  certain  degree  of  calmness  and  self-possession  so  neces- 
sary to  instruct  and  guide  an  audience.  Preaching  the  gospel 


78  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

is  the  highest  office  in  which  the  human  faculties  can  be  em- 
ployed. It  is  a  solemn  and  holy  work.  "Woe"  to  him  who 
trifles  with  it,  as  well  as  to  him  who  "preaches  not  the  gospel 
of  Christ." 

The  above  reflections  were  suggested  in  connection  with  the 
history  of  Mr.  McKendree's  life.  He  seems  to  have  had  con- 
stantly before  his  mind  the  apostolic  admonition:  "Study  to 
show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not 
to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth."  We  have 
seen  in  what  way  he  studied  the  Bible,  how  diligent  he  was  in 
all  the  duties  of  a  preacher  and  pastor,  and  also  how  he  fasted, 
watched,  prayed,  and  struggled  in  the  pursuit  of  personal  holi- 
ness; and  we  confess  that  we  have  drawn  more  largely  from  his 
Diary,  that  his  successors  in  the  ministry  may  for  all  time  to 
come  have  before  them  his  example  to  incite  them  to  zeal  and 
diligence.  His  style  of  preaching  was  remarkable  for  clearness 
and  persuasiveness.  Few  .preachers  studied  the  shades  of 
difference  in  words  as  he  did,  and  his  language  was  transparent; 
the  idea  was  distinctly  seen,  while  the  words  employed  in 
exhibiting  it  served  only  as  a  medium  of  intellectual  vision. 
He  was  always  in  earnest.  His  soul  was  pervaded  with  a  sense 
of  God,  and  his  heart  yearned  for  the  conversion  of  his  fellow 
men.  He  felt  "called  of  God"  to  this  work,  and  nothing  ever 
diverted  his  mind,  his  heart,  or  his  physical  energies  from  it.  It 
was  the  one  great  end  of  his  life;  and  that  life,  so  admirable  for 
its  beautiful  consistency  and  moral  sublimity  of  purpose,  so 
pure  and  useful,  so  full  of  labor  and  moral  heroism,  was  the 
product  of  "faith  unfeigned,"  and  that  faith  was  of  "the  opera- 
tion of  God  through  the  Spirit." 

What  a  commentary  does  such  a  life  afford  on  the  truth  and 
excellency  of  the  Christian  religion! 

Friday,  October  8, 1790,  found  him  quite  unwell,  and  fasting 
aggravated  his  sufferings.  He,  however,  tried  to  preach.  After 
dinner  felt  better;  "had  meeting  at  night  for  the  black  brethren" 
and  found  amongst  them  the  life  and  power  of  religion.  "How 
the  world  destroys  the  happiness  of  white  folks!" 

"Saturday,  October  9. — Out  in  the  woods  by  break  of  day, 
reading,  praying,  and  meditating.  Had  great  delight  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  felt  very  happy.  Preached  a  close,  heart- 
searching  sermon  to  a  serious  congregation;  held  class  meeting." 

"Sunday,  October  10. — Rose  at  3  A.M.;  family  prayer,  a 
time  of  heavenly  sweetness  to  our  souls.  Went  into  the  lovely 
fields  when  the  blushing  morn  is  dispersing  gloomy  night; 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  79 

breathed  the  sweet  morning  air  with  the  love  of  God  in  my  soul. 
About  sunrise  I  began  and  preached  to  about  thirty  persons 
from:  'And  the  angel  said  unto  the'  women.  Fear  not  ye,  for  I 
know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was  crucified:  he  is  not  here,  for 
he  is  risen,  as  he  said.'  My  dear  Master  gave  me  to  feel  what 
I  preached.  Love  feast  for  the  band  society  followed.  0  how 
the  saints  did  shout  and  tell  the  wonders  of  redeeming  love! 
But  had  a  cold  time  at  public  meeting/' 

"Monday,  October  11. — Rest  day.  Spent  my  time  in  reading, 
writing,  prayer,  and  meditation,  except«a  little  for  conversation 
with  my  brethren.  At  twelve  o'clock,  in  my  general  prayer  for 
mankind,  I  prayed  particularly  for  the  preachers.  Bless  the 
Lord  for  the  degree  of  conformity  I  feel  to  the  Lord's  will!  O 
give  me  universal  conformity  and  perfect  resignation!  In  the 
evening  walked  to  a  distant  grove  and  prostrated  myself  at  the 
feet  of  the  awful  Jehovah.  Met  my  brethren  in  covenant 
prayer;  my  soul  all  on  fire." 

"Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  October  12,  18. — Comfortable 
peace;  no  temptation  nor  powerful  exercise,  but  a  heaven  of 
calm,  sweet  peace  and  a  continual  rejoicing  that  'in  simplicity 
and  godly  sincerity  I  have  had  my  conversation  in  the  world.' 
Solitude  is  pleasant,  meditation  delightful,  and  my  Bible  is  food 
for  my  soul." 

"Thursday,  October  14- — Had  a  comfortable  morning.  Bless 
the  Lord,  0  my  soul,  for  his  great  mercy  to  feeble,  unworthy  me! 
I  am  surely  one  of  the  least  of  thy  followers,  and  am  not  meet 
to  be  called  a  preacher.  And  then  I  am  so  backward  in  duty 
and  so  unfaithful  in  it." 

"Friday,  October  15. — Set  out  fasting,  rode  twenty  miles, 
found  a  pretty  large  congregation,  felt  the  spirit  of  preaching, 
but  up  rides  a  strange  elder;  would  not  preach  for  me.  0  how 
the  cross  began  to  bear  me  down !  Lord ,  what  is  man?  Preached ; 
my  blessed  Master  made  the  cross  light.  Visited  the  pre- 
cious family  of  Brother  Hill  after  dinner;  met  a  black  class  to 
my  comfort,  for  they  seemed  perfectly  happy  and  had  'a  good 
report." 

From  the  following  Sunday  to  Thursday  he  was  sick,  and 
says  th?.t,  while  others  seem  to  find  the  time  of  affliction  a 
season  of  joy,  it  is  not  so  with  him,  but  a  time  of  trial,  yet,  upon 
close  examination,  finds  no  condemnation  for  known  sin;  "have 
had  some  weeping  times  this  week." 

The  ensuing  week  seems  to  have  been  a  period  of  bodily 
affliction  and  labor,  yet  was  he  happy  and  exultant.  On  Friday, 


80  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

October  22,  he  "arose  quite  unwell;  rode  twenty  miles  fasting; 
preached  and  held  class  meeting,  had  a  glorious  time;  several 
were  much  wrought  on;  one  joined  Society,  but  none  con- 
verted. At  seven  o'clock  the  moon  was  eclipsed;  thought  of 
the  day  of  judgment." 

Saturday,  October  80. — Quarterly  meeting  began  on  his  cir- 
cuit. "Rose  at  2  A.M.,  could  not  lie  in  bed  longer;  read  my 
Book,  prayed,  and  meditated.  To-day  Brother  Paup  preached 
a  beautiful  sermon;  Brother  Spencer  followed.  At  night  it  fell 
to  my  lot  to  hold  meeting;  Christians  were  happy,  backsliders 
cut  to  the  heart,  and  one  soul  sprang  into  life.  My  cup  was 
filled  to  the  brim." 

Sunday,  October  31,  was  a  blessed  day,  early  exercises,  as 
usual;  "a  sweet  and  awfully  glorious  time  at  sacrament;  a  great 
many  communicants.  Brother  Paup  preached  to  the  white  con- 
gregation; I  went  into  the  grove  with  the  black  people,  and  of 
a  truth  Jesus  was  there." 

Perhaps  I  have  tired  the  patience  of  my  readers  with  the 
minute  details  of  Mr.  McKendree's  Diary.  My  object  is  to 
present  a  true  portraiture  of  his  character  with  an  earnest  desire 
that  his  exemplary  and  profound  piety  may  be  useful  to  the 
Church,  and  especially  to  young  preachers.  Having  given  a 
specimen  of  his  daily  life  and  labors,  I  shall  not  henceforth  use 
his  Diary  very  often,  except  to  mark  important  incidents  in  his 
history. 

"  On  Thursday,  November  4,  met  the  preachers  in  conference 
at  Brother  Young's;  twenty-two  preachers  present,  and  by  nine 
o'clock  agreed  to  send  no  member  to  council,  but  stand  as  we 
are  until  next  Conference.  Brother  O'Kelly  preached."  This 
was  not  the  regular  session  of  the  annual  council,  but  was  a  con- 
vention, called  by  "proclamation  of  Mr.  O'Kelly,  inviting  the 
preachers  to  meet  in  Mecklenburg,"  the  object  being  to  fore- 
stall the  approaching  council.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  council  was  a  favorite  measure  with  Bishop  Asbury.  That 
Mr.  O'Kelly  had  already  by  letters  prejudiced  Dr.  Coke  against 
it,  and  that  he  had  been  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  array  the  Vir- 
ginia preachers  against  it.  Early  on  the  next  day,  Friday, 
November  5,  1790,  the  Conference  assembled  again;  the  docu- 
ment which  had  been  ordered  was  presented,  approved,  and 
directed  to  be  forwarded  to  the  council;  thus  placing  the  Vir- 
ginia Conference  almost  in  the  position  of  seceders. 

The  regular  session  of  the  council  was  held  for  this  year  in 
Philip  Rogers's  house,  Baltimore,  December  1.  In  view  of  the 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  81 

opposition  of  Dr.  Coke  and  the  disorganizing  tendency  of  Mr. 
O'Kelly's  course,  Bishop  Asbury,  "for  the  sake  of  union,"  gave 
up  the  council,  and  they  resolved  not  to  send  any  "recom- 
mendatory propositions"  to  the  Conferences,  thus  letting  it 
silently  pass  away. 

Having  taken  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  old  circuit,  he 
started  immediately  for  a  new  field  of  labor  to  which  he  had 
been  changed,  as  was  then  customary,  by  his  presiding  elder. 
Taking  his  father's  house  on  his  route,  he  gladly  embraced  the 
opportunity  of  visiting  home  and  spending  two  delightful  days 
with  his  beloved  kindred.  He  was  "comforted"  and  refreshed 
by  the  visit,  and  felt  very  "thankful  for  the  opportunity."  His 
pleasure  was,  however,  diminished  by  the  illness  of  his  youngest 
sister  and  the  dangerous  indisposition  of  his  aged  father.  When 
the  hour  came  for  his  departure,  there  was  a  struggle  in  his 
heart.  Fain  would  he  have  lingered  awhile  amid  the  scenes  of 
his  early  life  and  watched  by  the  beds  of  his  sick  sister  and 
father;  but  duty  called  him  away  to  preach  among  strangers 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  with  tears  and  prayers,  commending 
his  loved  ones  to  God,  he  turned  his  back  again  upon  his  peace- 
ful home  and  felt  that  the  preacher  had  triumphed  over  the 
man. 

His  course  during  this  year  was  similar  to  the  year  previous. 
Traveling,  studying,  preaching,  holding  class  meetings,  fasting, 
and  visiting  his  charge  from  house  to  house  were  his  daily 
history.  "  Rose  early,  lit  my  candle,  and  found  the  same  sweet- 
ness in  devotion  and  in  riding  the  Lord's  Word.  Spent  this 
day  and  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night  in  closely  studying  the 
Scriptures  and  reading  Church  history  with  great  delight.  Rode 
through  piercing  wind  and  a  hard  rain  twelve  miles,  which  gave 
me  a  violent  pain  in  the  head.  Tempted  to  omit  'watching'  on 
account  of  headache,  but  concluded  that  the  more  costly  the 
sacrifice,  the  stronger  is  the  proof  of  sincerity.  Every  night  has 
been  a  watch  night  with  me  for  some  time,"  etc.  These  quota- 
tions evince  the  spirit  with  which  he  prosecuted  his  mission. 

During  this  year  he  seems  to  have  had  a  great  many  meetings 
with  the  black  people  and  to  have  enjoyed  himself  greatly  in 
his  labors  among  them,  thus  giving  an  example  worthy  the 
imitation  of  every  minister  of  Christ. 

On  December  31,  1790,  while  Mr.  McKendree  and  others 

were  holding  a  meeting  at  Brother  M.'s,  Bishop  Asbury  arrived 

there.    He  had  been  making  a  tour  in  the  lower  part  of  Virginia, 

had  preached  in  James  City  and  in  the  city  of  Williamsburg 

6 


82  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and,  after  crossing  James  River  in  a  boat  the  bottom  of  which 
was  covered  with  ice,  had  ridden  through  a  snowstorm  for 
several  miles.  Coming  to  Brother  M.'s,  he  "found  Brother 
Paup  preaching  and  the  people  shouting."  The  good  old 
Bishop  says:  "I  preached  on  Ephesians  v.  17-19.  I  afterwards 
had  an  interview  with  Brother  Paup  and  a  more  full  account  of 
our  disaffected  brethren."  Indeed,  so  soon  as  he  entered  the 
district  of  Mr.  O'Kelly,  he  says:  "I  heard  some  painful  cir- 
cumstances relative  to  our  disaffected  brethren.  I  leave  these 
things  to  God."  Mr.  O'Kelly  had  scattered  discord  broadcast 
over  his  whole  district  and  was  likely  to  disaffect  the  whole 
Conference.  He  ought  not  to  have  been  continued  upon  the 
district  a  day  after  he  evinced  his  design.  It  was  Bishop 
Asbury's  leniency,  not  to  say  timidity,  that  gave  to  this  dan- 
gerous man  the  opportunity  of  doing  so  much  mischief.  It 
would  have  been  better  to  deprive  him  at  once  of  the  district. 
He  had  already  gone  too  far  to  retract  and  nothing  was  gained, 
but  much  lost,  by  attempts  at  conciliating  him. 

Mr.  McKendree,  who  had  spent  all  his  time  as  a  preacher 
under  Mr.  O'Kelly,  was  accustomed  to  hear  Bishop  Asbury 
alluded  to  by  his  elder  as  ambitious  and  aristocratic;  and  in 
proportion  to  his  confidence  in  the  latter,  the  former  was  depre- 
ciated in  his  estimation.  Still  he  was  honest  and  candid,  and 
this  interview  must  have  awakened  doubts  in  his  mind  as  to  the 
justness  of  his  elder's  representations.  His  account  of  this 
meeting  with  the  Bishop  is  as  follows: 

"Our  reverend  Bishop  arrived,  gave  us  a  most  excellent  dis- 
course, at  the  close  of  which  the  power  of  the  Lord  came  down 
on  the  people." 

"Saturday,  January  1,  1791. — Bishop  Asbury,  two  other 
preachers,  and  myself  rode  about  sixteen  miles.  The  wind  was 
very  keen  and  the  snow  about  eight  inches  deep;  our  poor  horses 
were  much  fatigued  and  ourselves  pierced  with  the  cold.  We 
got  to  Mr.  Blunt's.  I  am  astonished  at  the  Bishop's  sweet 
simplicity  and  uncommon  familiarity.  Love  appeared  to  sweet- 
en all  our  conversation." 

"Astonished  at  the  Bishop's  sweet  simplicity!"  And  why? 
Forsooth,  because  he  had  often  heard  him  represented  as  austere 
and  despotic.  Yes,  the  pure  and  noble  Asbury,  the  father  of 
American  Methodism,  whose  life  was  one  continuous  sacrifice, 
one  long,  yearning  struggle  of  soul,  body,  and  spirit  for  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  Zion,  and  who  literally  fell  a  victim  to 
unselfish  and  never-ceasing  toil  in  the  Master's  cause,  even  he 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  83 

astonished  Mr.  McKendree  by  his  simple  and  familiar  manners! 
And  yet  this  favorable  impression  was  soon  to  be  erased  by  the 
unfortunate  presiding  elder,  to  be  renewed  again,  however,  and 
grow  stronger  during  many  years  of  associated  labor  and  even 
until  the  grave  had  closed  upon  the  remains  of  the  wise  and 
good  old  Bishop. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  which  occurred  March  2,  1791, 
deeply  affected  the  Methodists  in  America  as  well  as  in  England. 
They  felt  as  a  large  and  affectionate  family  feels  in  the  loss  of  a 
father.  Their  enemies  had  predicted  that  this  event  would  be 
speedily  followed  by  the  dissolution  of  the  connection,  and 
many  of  their  friends  were  fearful  of  the  same  result.  When  the 
sad  intelligence  reached  the  United  States,  Dr.  Coke  and  Bishop 
Asbury  were  traveling  together  through  Virginia.  The  Doctor 
immediately  resolved  to  return  to  England.  Before  his  depar- 
ture, however,  he  and  Bishop  Asbury  attended  the  Virginia 
Conference  in  Petersburg,  April  20,  and  "the  affair  of  the 
council  was  suspended  until  a  General  Conference."  This 
seemed  to  give  satisfaction  even  to  Mr.  O'Kelly,  and  the  session 
was  peaceful  and  happy.  The  time  of  holding  the  Conference 
was  here  changed  from  the  spring  to  the  winter,  and  the  en- 
suing Conference  was  appointed  to  be  held  in  December.  Of 
course  Mr.  McKendree  attended  the  Conference.  Here  he  was 
appointed  to  Amelia  Circuit,  with  John  Baldwin  as  his  colleague 
and  Mr.  O'Kelly  again  as  his  elder. 

As  the  Diary  of  Mr.  McKendree,  to  which  reference  has  so 
often  been  made,  leaves  here  a  chasm  in  his  history,  we  have 
no  other  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  himself 
during  the  remainder  of  this  year  but  his  own  general  statement. 
"I  enjoyed  peace  of  mind  and  comfortable  fellowship  with  those 
among  whom  I  labored." 

The  Conference  began  at  Lane's  Chapel  December  23,  1791, 
Bishop  Asbury  presiding.  Dr.  Coke  was  still  in  England. 
Asbury  says,  "This  Conference  began  and  ended  in  peace;" 
and  doubtless  this  was  greatly  promoted  by  the  announcement 
that  a  General  Conference  would  be  held  the  ensuing  year.  Mr. 
O'Kelly  and  his  friends  seemed  satisfied.  On  Sunday,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1791,  Mr.  McKendree  was  ordained  elder  by  Bishop 
Asbury,  as  appears  from  his  parchment  of  ordination  now  before 
me.  And  now,  having  followed  his  history  up  to  the  period  of 
his  induction  into  the  full  office  of  the  ministry  and,  from  the 
standpoint  which  his  biographer  occupies,  contemplating  the 
remainder  of  his  long,  useful,  and  exemplary  life  and  labors,  we 


84  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

are  forcibly  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  few  ministers 
of  Christ  have  ever  taken  upon  them  the  solemn  vows  of  the 
ordination  service  more  thoroughly  penetrated  with  a  convic- 
tion of  their  holy  and  sublime  import  or  have  given  such  evi- 
dence of  their  inflexible  purpose  to  keep  these  vows  inviolable  to 
life's  last  hour.  Happy  for  the  Church  and  the  world  if  all  his 
brethren  would  follow  him  as  he  followed  Christ. 


CHAPTER  VII 

McKendree  appointed  to  Greenville  Circuit  in  1791 — General  Conference, 
1792 — O'Kelly  withdraws  and  dies — McKendree  declines  the  work,  but 
soon  resumes  it — Asbury  appoints  him  to  Norfolk — Conference  in 
Petersburg  in  1793 — Travels  three  months  with  Asbury — Union  Cir- 
cuit— Philip  Bruce,  presiding  elder — Tobias  Gibson,  his  colleague — 
Conference  in  1794  at  Mabry's — John  Kobler — Conference,  1795 — Is 
made  presiding  elder — Continued  three  years — 1798  he  presides  in  the 
bounds  of  Baltimore  Conference — In  1800  Bishop  Asbury  takes  him  to 
the  West — Large  district — Difficulties — Labors — Usefulness — 1801 
travels  through  the  wilderness  with  Asbury — In  1804,  General  Confer- 
ence— Jerks — Dancing — Shaking  Quakers — Seceders  from  Presbyterian 
Church — Marshallites — Stoneites — McKendree  chief  conservator  of 
Methodism  in  the  West. 

AT  the  Lane's  Chapel  Conference,  held  in  Southampton 
County,  Va.,  December  23,  1791,  Mr.  McKendree  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  charge  of  Greenville  Circuit,  with  Joel  Tucker 
as  his  "helper."  Several  things  conspired  to  make  him  reluctant 
to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  this  charge.  It  was  the  circuit  in 
which  his  relations  and  many  of  his  old  acquaintances  resided; 
there  he  was  converted  and  began  his  ministry.  He  was  aware 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  execute  the  rules  of  the  Discipline 
upon  many  who  were  "older  members  of  the  societies  than  him- 
self," some  of  whom  considered  themselves  his  "superiors"; 
and  fearing  they  would  not  bear  from  him  this  wholesome  and 
important  moral  regimen,  he  felt  strongly  opposed  to  this  ap- 
pointment when  first  announced.  But  as  there  was  no  alter- 
native except  a  cowardly  backing  out  of  the  responsibilities 
which,  in  God's  providence,  had  been  devolved  upon  him,  he 
determined  to  undertake  his  duties  in  humble  dependence  upon 
his  divine  Master.  He  was  soon  convinced  that  his  fears  were 
groundless.  His  old  friends  received  him  warmly,  the  com- 
munity evinced  their  respect  for  him  by  attending  his  ministry 
and  treating  him  in  every  respect  with  the  attention  which  his 
pure  personal  character  and  his  holy  office  demanded,  and  al- 
though he  was  compelled  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  preach- 
er in  charge  to  exclude  many  from  the  Church,  he  says  that  "no 
fixed  prejudices  in  consequence  of  the  administration  resulted. 
True,  we  had  but  few  additions,  yet  we  had  many  sweet  and 
precious  meetings.  The  work  of  sanctification  revived,"  etc. 

The  letter  of  Mr.  McKendree  to  Bishop  Asbury,  already 
quoted,  reveals  the  fact  that  his  happiness  and  usefulness  at 


86  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

this  time  were  diminished  by  prejudices  engendered  in  his  mind 
by  Mr.  O'Kelly,  his  old  friend  and  presiding  elder,  who  attacked 
the  character  of  Bishop  Asbury,  more  than  insinuated  that  he 
was  insincere  and  ambitious,  and  that  the  ruin  of  the  Church 
could  be  prevented  in  no  other  way  but  by  "counteracting 
measures." 

The  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore,  October  31, 1792.1 
This  was  the  first  Conference  of  the  kind  held  since  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Church  in  1784  and  was  composed  of  all  the  travel- 
ing preachers  in  full  connection.  And  it  continued  to  meet 
quadrennially  in  the  same  capacity  and  with  the  same  almost 
unlimited  power  until  the  session  of  1800,  when  the  terms  of 
membership  were  restricted  to  those  who  had  traveled  four 
years,  and  in  1808  the  delegated  General  Conference  was  sub- 
stituted for  this  meeting  of  the  whole  body  of  the  preachers. 
The  Conference  of  1792  was  a  very  important  session.  The 
several  Annual  Conferences  had  agreed  to  meet  to  review  the 
condition  of  the  Church,  to  revise  and  adopt  such  rules  and 
measures  as  might  be  found  proper,  and  to  settle  certain  ques- 
tions which  threatened  the  peace,  if  not  the  very  existence,  of 
the  Church.  The  body  was  comparatively  a  large  one,  repre- 
senting every  part  of  the  connection,  and  in  this  respect  was  the 
first  General  Conference  after  the  organization  of  the  Church  in 

:In  1858,  Bishop  Morris,  in  an  article  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  said:  "If  any  regular  sessions  (of  the  General  Conference)  were 
held  in  1788  and  1792,  the  Minutes  were  not  printed,  probably  not  re- 
corded, and  are  lost.  It  is  presumable  they  were  held,  and  that  they  were 
held  in  the  autumn."  To  which  F.  S.  DeHass  replies:  "The  Bishop  is 
right  in  his  presumption  that  they  were  held,  and  held  in  the  autumn.  But 
we  are  happy  to  say  the  Minutes  are  not  entirely  lost,  and  at  some  future 
day  we  may  give  the  Minutes  of  these  two  important  Conferences  in  full. 
The  first  met  September  10,  1788,  the  other  November  1,  1792." 

We  think  that  the  Bishop  and  Mr.  DeHass  are  both  in  error  as  to  1788, 
the  former  as  to  his  "presumption,"  the  latter  as  to  his  facts.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  a  General  Conference  was  held  in  1788.  There  was  a  Con- 
ference held  in  Baltimore  on  September  10  of  that  year,  which  continued 
from  Wednesday  until  Sunday;  but  it  was  not  a  General  Conference,  but 
the  annual  session  of  the  Baltimore  Conference.  The  "  Council"  plan  was 
introduced;  the  bishops  and  presiding  elders  met  instead  of  a  General  Con- 
ference, from  about  1788  to  1792,  when  that  plan  was  superseded  by  a 
regular  General  Conference,  or  Convention.  The  delegated  General  Con- 
ference, it  will  be  remembered,  was  provided  for  in  1808.  If  Mr.  DeHass 
can  give  us  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  1788  "in  full,"  or  evenin  part, 
we  shall  be  greatly  surprised. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  87 

1784.  Dr.  Coke  and  Bishop  Asbury  "presided  conjointly  over 
their  deliberations."  Mr.  McKendree,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
O'Kelly,  went  to  Baltimore  to  attend  its  session.  They  lodged 
together;  their  room  became  the  place  for  the  meeting  of  Mr. 
0' Kelly's  discontented  friends.  The  result  of  the  caucus  was 
an  attempt  to  restrict  the  power  of  the  bishops  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  preachers.  For  this  end  Mr.  O'Kelly  brought  for- 
ward a  resolution  giving  to  "any  preacher  who  may  think  him- 
self injured  by  the  appointment  of  the  bishop  the  liberty  to 
appeal  to  the  Conference."  After  three  days'  animated  dis- 
cussion, the  resolution  was  lost  by  a  large  majority.  Next 
morning  he  signified  in  writing  to  the  Conference  that  he  should 
withdraw  on  account  of  the  failure  of  his  motion.  Throughout 
this  whole  proceeding  Bishop  Asbury  behaved  with  his  usual 
modesty  and  propriety.  He  resigned  the  chair  to  Dr.  Coke  and 
absented  himself  from  the  Conference  that  the  members  might 
be  under  no  restraint  on  account  of  his  presence.  This  decision 
by  the  great  body  of  the  preachers  themselves  in  favor  of  con- 
tinuing the  appointing  power  in  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  after 
having  tested  the  system  for  many  years,  was  a  signal  vindica- 
tion, both  of  the  administration  and  their  devotion  to  the  great 
cardinal  feature  of  Methodism,  its  itinerancy. 

But  Mr.  O'Kelly  had  gone  too  far  to  retract.  In  vain  did  the 
Conference  send  Freeborn  Garrettson  and  two  other  members 
to  dissuade  him  from  secession  and  reassure  him  of  their  good 
will;  Dr.  Coke  in  vain  sought  to  pacify  his  feelings  in  a  personal, 
private  interview.  Nothing  but  division  would  do  him.  He 
broke  off,  left  the  city,  and  induced  Mr.  McKendree  and  some 
others  to  leave  with  him. 

All  except  Mr.  O'Kelly,  however,  asked  and  obtained  per- 
mission to  return  home  without  giving  notice  as  to  their  ulterior 
purposes.  Indeed,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  they  do  not 
seem  to  have  had  any  fixed  purpose.  They  had  many  consulta- 
tions upon  their  journey  home.  The  latter  part  of  the  trip,  Mr. 
McKendree  was  the  only  companion  of  his  late  presiding  elder. 
He  unfolded  his  plan  to  his  young  protege*.  It  was  to  have  "a 
republican,  no  slavery,  glorious  Church!  Bishop  Asbury  was 
a  pope;  the  General  Conference  was  a  revolutionizing  body;  the 
Bishop  and  his  creatures  were  working  the  ruin  of  the  Church  to 
gratify  their  pride  and  ambition!" 

Indeed,  there  is  a  strong  probability  that,  knowing  he  would 
be  impeached  on  account  of  his  denial  of  the  distinct  personality 


88  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  the  Holy  Trinity,  he  felt  himself  "  in  a  strait  between  expulsion 
and  secession."1 

The  Conference  adjourned  on  November  14,  after  having  re- 
vised the  Discipline  with  "regard  to  its  subject  matter  as  a 
manual  of  Christian  duty  and  as  to  the  form  and  arrangement 
of  the  book  itself,  but  not  effecting  its  fundamental  laws  or 
doctrines." 

On  November  26  Bishop  Asbury  opened  the  Conference  for 
the  Virginia  District  in  Manchester.  The  interval  between  the 
General  and  the  Annual  Conferences  was  too  short  to  afford 
time  for  the  removal  of  the  feeling  excited  at  the  General  Con- 
ference. Sympathizing  deeply  with  his  old  and  apparently  his 
best  friend,  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  subject  of  Church 
government,  and  with  the  docility  almost  of  a  child  confiding 
in  the  misrepresentations  of  Mr.  Asbury's  character  and  of  the 
consequences  likely  to  result  to  the  Church  from  the  action  of 
the  General  Conference  as  instilled  into  his  mind  by  Mr.  0' Kel- 
ly, Mr.  McKendree  respectfully  wrote  to  the  Conference  de- 
clining to  take  an  appointment  for  the  ensuing  year.  At  the 
suggestion  of  Bishop  Asbury,  the  Conference  generously  agreed 
that  Mr.  O'Kelly,  "in  view  of  his  age  and  services,"  should  re- 
ceive his  annual  salary  of  £40,  as  when  he  traveled  in  the  con- 
nection, provided  he  should  not  excite  divisions  among  the 
members;  and  he  actually  received  his  salary  for  a  part  of  the 
year.  But,  unfortunately,  he  resolved  to  rend  all  the  ties  that 
bound  him  to  the  Church  and  set  up  in  opposition  to  it  his 
ideal  "glorious  Church."  I  need  not  repeat  the  sad  narrative 
of  his  subsequent  history,  of  the  prejudices  he  excited  against 
the  Bishop  and  the  Conference;  of  his  too  successful  efforts  to 
draw  off  disciples  after  him;  of  his  waning  influence,  until  he 
lost  the  confidence  and  affections  of  the  people  almost  alto- 
gether; and  of  his  death,  in  1826,  in  the  ninety-second  year  of 
his  age,  preceded  by  a  very  touching  interview  between  Bishop 
Asbury  and  himself.  It  is  a  melancholy  story,  and  it  is  hoped 
may  never  be  repeated  in  the  future  history  of  our  Methodism. 

Shortly  after  the  close  of  the  Virginia  Conference,  Bishop 
Asbury  passed  through  the  neighborhood  of  Mr.  McKendree's 
father.  The  mind  of  young  McKendree  was  ill  at  ease  about 
his  duty  and,  having  had  an  interview  with  the  Bishop,  he 
was  treated  with  great  kindness  and  invited  to  travel  with  him 
awhile.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  as  they  went  from 

»"Life  and  Times  of  Jesse  Lee,"  p.  26. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  89 

one  of  the  Bishop's  appointments  to  another  through  the  eastern 
portion  of  Virginia,  they  calmly  and  fully  discussed  the  subjects 
of  Church  government,  especially  Methodist  government,  the 
late  attempt  to  change  the  system,  the  course  and  design  of  Mr. 
0' Kelly,  and  the  consequences  likely  to  result  to  himself  and 
others.  Bishop  Asbury  did  not  correspond  to  the  description 
which  Mr.  McKendree  had  heard  of  him.  Instead  of  being 
austere,  proud,  ambitious,  and  bent  upon  subjecting  the  liber- 
ties of  the  membership  and  the  ministry  to  his  will,  he  was  sur- 
prised to  find  him  humble,  devout,  self-denying,  and  unceasing 
in  his  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church.  He  soon  understood, 
too,  the  evil  consequences  which  would  inevitably  follow  the 
adoption  of  Mr.  0' Kelly's  late  favorite  measure,  the  ruin  of  the 
general  superintendency  and  of  the  whole  itinerant  system. 
The  spell  of  the  enchanter  was  broken;  humbled  and  mortified 
at  his  own  weakness,  with  characteristic  candor  he  confessed 
his  error,  was  received  again  into  the  confidence  of  the  noble 
and  warm-hearted  old  Bishop,  and  at  once  sent  to  the  city  of 
Norfolk  as  the  stationed  preacher.  This  is  the  amount  of  Mr. 
McKendree's  defection.  He  had  been  perplexed  and  bewildered 
by  the  misrepresentations  of  his  presiding  elder,  "cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed."  He  did  not  withdraw  from  the  Church  or 
the  ministry.  His  itinerancy  was  temporarily  suspended,  at 
his  own  request;  but  after  about  a  month  he  resumed  his  posi- 
tion and  his  work  in  the  ranks  with  his  late  associates,  having 
become  a  wiser  man.  His  love  of  the  Church  and  the  purity  of 
his  motives  were  unquestionable.  The  mental  and  religious 
struggle  through  which  he  passed  in  this  affair  led  him  to  ex- 
amine more  critically  the  system  of  Church  government  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Wesley  and  adopted  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1784,  and  resulted  in  strengthening  his  attachment  to  the 
existing  institutions  of  the  Church  and  fixing  him  inflexibly 
against  all  sudden  and  serious  changes  in  its  polity.  Disaffec- 
tion to  Methodism,  it  has  been  said,  is  a  disease  which  never 
attacks  a  member  or  minister  but  once  in  his  life.  If  he  recover 
from  this  attack,  he  is  in  no  danger  of  it  any  more.  And  so  it 
was  with  Mr.  McKendree.  Henceforth  he  was  ever  among  the 
most  zealous,  able,  and  consistent  advocates  of  its  polity,  never 
wavering  or  ceasing  to  defend  and  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
Church  with  all  the  energies  of  his  soul  and  body  to  the  day  of 
his  death. 

The  name  of  William  McKendree  appears  in  the  "Minutes  of 
1793,"  in  charge  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth.    His  own  concise 


90  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

account  of  this  year's  work  is  as  follows:  "Though  it  was  a 
year  of  contention  and  much  confusion,  I  enjoyed  peace  with 
the  members  of  the  station."  This  contention  and  confusion 
were  no  doubt  mainly  owing  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  0' Kelly  and 
his  adherents  to  prejudice  the  community  against  the  Church 
and  draw  off  its  membership.  It  was  a  time  of  trial.  Many 
excellent  members  and  some  useful  preachers,  influenced  by 
their  respect  for  Mr.  0' Kelly  and  not  fully  apprehending  the 
subject,  were  misled  and  abandoned  the  Church.  Church  rela- 
tions and  family  ties  were  rudely  sundered,  love  and  harmony 
were  succeeded  by  "strife  and  every  evil  work,"  and  the 
enemies  of  Methodism  exulted  at  the  prospect  of  witnessing  the 
fulfillment  of  its  predicted  dissolution.  And  although  the  prin- 
cipal agent  in  this  deplorable  secession  soon  saw  that  his  plan 
was  a  failure  so  far  as  regards  his  usefulness  or  the  ruin  of  the 
Church  he  had  deserted,  yet  within  the  bounds  of  his  old  dis- 
trict and  among  many  of  his  old  friends,  he  wrought  irreparable 
injury.  Many  long  years  have  scarcely  yet  obliterated  the 
painful  results  of  that  day  upon  the  descendants  of  those  who 
were  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  followed  him.  Indeed,  no  one 
gained  anything  by  this  schism,  while  the  Church,  the  commu- 
nity, and  even  the  agitators  themselves  were  injured. 

The  lesson  enforced  by  this  sad  occurrence  is  that  a  needless 
rending  of  Church  relations  is  a  great  evil.  To  justify  it,  there 
must  be  a  conviction  that  its  doctrines  or  its  economy  are  un- 
scriptural  or  its  administration  subversive  of  the  high  and  holy 
ends  of  Church  organization.  Duty  to  the  Church  itself,  as 
well  as  fealty  to  its  Head,  may  demand  the  sacrifice  of  union 
when  the  Church  departs  from  the  precepts  of  the  Bible  and 
sets  herself  to  a  course  which  must  work  the  ruin  of  the  great 
object  of  her  organization;  but  woe  to  those  who  for  trivial 
causes  or  selfish  ends  seek  to  divide  the  Church  of  God! 

At  the  ensuing  Conference,  which  was  held  in  Petersburg, 
November  25,  1793,  his  character  was  passed  as  blameless; 
fifty-five  preachers  present,  Bishop  Asbury  presiding.  His 
appointment  for  the  next  year  was  to  Union  Circuit,  with 
Nicholas  Waters  as  his  helper.  Tobias  Gibson  was  also  ap- 
pointed to  this  circuit  for  one  quarter.  It  seems  that  at  this 
Conference  he  offered  to  travel  awhile  with  Bishop  Asbury, 
that  his  offer  was  accepted,  and  that  the  quarter  spent  in  the 
company  of  that  excellent  and  wise  man  was  very  profitably 
employed.  At  the  close  of  the  three  months,  he  entered  upon 
the  work  assigned  him,  and  Tobias  Gibson,  according  to  a  pre- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  91 

vious  arrangement,  became  the  Bishop's  traveling  companion. 
Union  Circuit  was  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  and  his  pre- 
siding elder  this  year  was  Philip  Bruce,  of  precious  memory. 
We  have  no  record  of  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  himself 
upon  this  circuit,  but  doubt  not  he  manifested  his  usual  zeal  and 
industry  and  was  useful  in  getting  souls  converted  and  building 
up  the  Church. 

Heretofore  separate  Conferences  had  been  held  in  Virginia, 
North,  and  South  Carolina;  but  by  agreement  among  them, 
they  were  all  to  meet  at  Petersburg  on  November  25, 1794.  The 
smallpox  prevailing  in  that  place  at  the  time,  the  Conference 
was  held  at  "Sister  Mabry's,"  in  Greenville  County,  about 
eighty  preachers  present,  and  Bishop  Asbury  presiding.  At 
this  Conference,  he  was  appointed  to  Bottetourt  Circuit,  Vir- 
ginia, under  John  Kobler  as  his  presiding  elder.  Here  again  we 
have  no  written  data  of  his  course;  but  as  he  was  considered 
worthy  and  faithful  by  his  colleagues,  we  have  a  right  to  pre- 
sume that  neither  his  character  nor  his  manner  of  life  changed 
for  the  worse.  And  this  inference  is  strengthened  by  the  fact 
that  by  the  next  Conference,  held  at  Salem  Chapel,  Mecklen- 
burg County,  Va.,  November  24,  1795,  he  was  appointed,  by 
Bishop  Asbury,  presiding  elder  over  a  very  important  district 
in  the  Virginia  Conference.  He  had  now  been  eight  years  a 
regular  itinerant  preacher.  He  had  won  the  esteem  of  every 
community  among  whom  he  had  labored,  and  enjoyed  in  a  high 
degree  the  confidence  and  love  of  the  preachers.  He  had  been 
studious,  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  zealous,  and 
laborious.  His  standard  of  morals  and  religious  experience  had 
been  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  had  sought  and  found  the  bless- 
ing of  sanctifying  love  and  in  every  manner  had  made  "full 
proof  of  his  ministry."  Now  he  was  called  to  preside  over  a 
district  and  at  the  same  time  was  placed  as  preacher  in  charge 
of  a  circuit,  for  in  those  days  "the  higher  the  office,  the  harder 
the  work."  The  next  year  his  district  was  greatly  enlarged, 
and  he  was  found  to  be  admirably  adapted  to  this  work  of 
supervising  the  operations  of  the  preachers  and  the  general 
interests  of  the  Church  within  his  district.  He  remained  upon 
it  three  years.  As  presiding  elder,  his  sphere  of  useful  labor  was 
greatly  enlarged.  His  district  extended  from  the  Chesapeake 
Bay  over  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Alleghany  Mountains  and  em- 
braced an  extensive  region  of  territory  upon  the  western  waters. 
The  rides  were  long,  and  the  charge  required  much  preaching 


92  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  devolved  upon  him  many  cares.  The  following  is  his  own 
account  of  these  three  years  of  sacrifice  and  toil: 

"  I  was  blessed  with  many  friends  on  this  district,  abundant  in 
kind  offices,  and  some  of  them  able  counselors.  We  were  blessed 
with  a  revival  of  religion;  many  professed  to  obtain  regenerating 
grace  and  joined  the  Church.  The  members  provoked  one 
another  to  love  and  good  works,  and  their  advancement  in  the 
divine  life  was  evident.  But  the  abundant  labors  and  care  which 
the  charge  imposed  were  too  great  for  my  strength.  My  studies 
were  partially  prevented  by  attention  to  other  branches  of  duty, 
and  my  nervous  system  was  somewhat  impaired.  But  I  was 
fully  compensated  in  having  intimate  union  and  communion 
with  the  adorable  Saviour,  and  the  increasing  prosperity  of  the 
Church  at  once  invigorated  my  zeal  and  increased  my  joy  in  the 
Lord." 

In  1798,  he  was  appointed  to  a  district  lying  in  the  bounds  of 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  contiguous  to  that  he  had  traveled 
the  three  preceding  years  and  which  was  almost  as  large  as  the 
former  field  of  his  labors.  It  extended  from  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
over  the  Blue  Ridge  and  terminated  at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  This  was  to  him  a  year  of  labor  and  trials;  but  he 
says:  "They  were  forgotten  in  the  overwhelming  communion 
with  God  and  reviving  interviews  with  my  followers.  Here  I 
found  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel  by  whose  example  I  was 
edified  and  comforted." 

Following  the  narrative  of  Bishop  Soule  in  his  funeral  dis- 
course already  adverted  to,  we  proceed  to  say  that  in  the  spring 
of  1800  he  was  returned  to  the  district  from  which  he  had  been 
taken  the  year  before,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Bishops 
Asbury  and  Whatcoat  passed  through  his  district  and  took  him 
with  them  to  the  Western  Conference,  which  met  at  Bethel,  Ky., 
in  October,  1800. 

Here  he  was  appointed  to  the  oversight  of  the  whole  Confer- 
ence, in  the  character  of  a  presiding  elder  of  the  district  which 
embraced  the  State  of  Kentucky  and  that  part  of  Virginia  west 
of  the  Great  Kanawha  River,  East  and  West  Tennessee,  and 
all  the  settled  territory  west  of  the  Ohio  River,  including  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  an  extensive  mission  in  the  State  of 
Illinois.  The  Natchez  Mission  was  also  connected  with  this 
charge.  He  had  now  to  travel  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  to 
compass  his  district,  and  the  whole  of  it,  with  the  exception  of 
East  Tennessee  and  Western  Virginia,  was  a  new  and  rapidly 
populating  country.  This  was  a  field  of  labor  and  enterprise 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  93 

well  suited  to  the  enlightened  views  and  ardent  devotion  of  this 
excellent  minister  of  Christ.  It  was  a  work  worthy  of  St.  Paul 
and  which  required  the  zeal  of  an  apostle  to  accomplish  it.  He 
entered  into  it  with  a  deep  sense  of  his  dependence  upon  divine 
aid  and  with  that  vigorous  and  persevering  activity  which,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  was  attended  with  abundant  success.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  country 
embraced  in  his  new  charge  was  just  being  settled  with  emi- 
grants from  the  old  States,  who  were  subject  to  the  discomforts 
common  to  the  first  settlers  in  all  new  countries.  Small  com- 
panies of  these  emigrants  would  locate  themselves  in  neighbor- 
hoods many  miles  remote  from  each  other,  without  any  method 
of  intercourse  but  the  pocket  compass,  trees  marked  with  the 
ax,  or  the  tops  of  bushes  bent  down  and  half  broken.  These 
were  the  landmarks  and  highways  of  our  McKendree  through 
a  large  part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

It  was  his  wise  and  benevolent  plan,  with  the  handful  of 
preachers  in  his  charge,  to  advance  with  the  population  of  the 
country  and  to  plant  the  standard  of  the  cross  and  preach 
Jesus  and  the  resurrection  in  the  frontier  settlements. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  plan,  he  and  his  noble  band  of 
fellow  laborers  had  necessarily  to  encounter  and  overcome  many 
formidable  difficulties.  They  were  frequently  ministers  of 
gospel  consolation  to  the  people  in  their  camps  and  cabins,  in 
the  woods  and  canebrakes,  before  their  fields  had  been  opened 
sufficiently  to  raise  a  comfortable  support  for  their  families.  In 
getting  to  them,  for  the  want  of  roads  or  paths,  they  were  con- 
ducted through  the  trackless  woods;  and  for  want  of  bridges 
or  boats,  they  swam  rivers  and  creeks  They  carried  their  pro- 
visions for  man  and  beast  on  their  horses,  cooked  their  simple 
meals  in  the  wilderness,  slept  at  night  upon  their  blankets  and 
under  the  open  sky;  owls,  bears,  wolves,  and  panthers  were  their 
serenaders,  and  sometimes  the  wily  and  cruel  Indian  dogged 
their  steps  by  day  and  hovered  around  their  camp  fires  at 
night,  to  steal  or  kill  as  his  sagacity  might  dictate.  In  the  morn- 
ing, if  spared,  they  raised  their  hearts  in  gratitude  and  went  on 
their  way  rejoicing. 

But  let  us  hear  his  own  description,  drawn  from  experience, 
of  the  Methodist  traveling  preacher's  life  in  the  Western  frontier 
work:  "While  on  the  way  through  these  frontier  settlements, 
if  we  came  to  a  creek  or  river,  we  had  the  privilege  of  swim- 
ming it;  and,  when  safely  landed  on  the  other  bank,  it  was  a 
consolation  to  reflect  we  had  left  that  obstruction  behind  and 


94  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

that  the  way  to  the  next  lay  open  and  plain  before  us.  If  night 
overtook  us  before  we  could  reach  a  house,  it  was  our  privilege 
to  gather  wood  where  we  could  find  it,  make  a  fire,  eat  our  mor- 
sel, and  supplicate  a  throne  of  grace  with  as  free  access  as  in  a 
palace  or  a  church.  Being  weary,  we  rested  sweetly  and  securely 
under  the  divine  protection;  and  when  we  arrived  at  our  des- 
tination, if  the  accommodations  were  of  the  humblest  kind,  we 
had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  being  received  with  a  hearty 
welcome  and  accommodated  with  the  best  the  family  could 
afford;  and,  though  very  inferior  in  the  estimation  of  the  deli- 
cate and  those  accustomed  to  sumptuous  fare,  yet  all  the  real 
wants  of  nature  were  supplied.  We  ate  heartily,  slept  sweetly, 
and  rejoiced  with  the  pious  and  affectionate  people  who  received 
and  treated  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  as  angels  of  God:  and, 
above  all,  when  the  time  arrived  for  us  to  deliver  our  message, 
the  people  flocked  together,  and  seemed  to  want  to  hear  what  God 
the  Lord  would  say.  The  prayers  of  the  pious  ascended  the  hill 
of  the  Lord;  divine  power  attended  the  preaching  of  the  word; 
sinners  were  convicted,  many  were  converted  to  God,  and  the 
Church  was  enlarged  and  'built  up  in  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints.'" 

In  conclusion,  he  says:  "My  appointment  required  much 
riding.  I  preached  often  and  sustained  a  great  charge;  and  yet 
I  esteem  those  among  the  happiest  days  of  my  life.  Strange 
as  it  may  seem,  there,  in  the  midst  of  exposure  and  many  priva- 
tions, my  impaired  constitution  was  restored  and  my  general 
health  greatly  improved.  I  enjoyed  peace  and  consolation 
through  faith  and  was  enabled  to  walk  with  God."  Eight  years 
of  Mr.  McKendree's  life — i.  e.,  from  1800  to  1808 — were  spent 
in  this  way  while  presiding  over  the  work  in  the  wilds  of  the 
Western  frontier.  They  were  years  of  almost  inconceivable 
hardship  and  toil,  but  of  great  usefulness  and  happiness.  His 
being  selected  for  this  post  by  Mr.  Asbury  seems  to  have  been 
providential,  for  scarcely  another  man  could  have  been  found 
combining  so  many  qualifications  for  this  delicate  and  difficult 
field  of  ministerial  labor. 

It  evinced  that  great  peculiarity  in  Mr.  Asbury's  character 
by  which  he  seemed  almost  intuitively  to  read  the  characters  of 
men  and  was  thus  enabled  to  select  the  proper  preachers  for  the 
appointments.  Never  was  a  more  felicitous  appointment 
made  than  was  the  selection  of  this  devoted  servant  of  Jesus 
to  the  Westernjwork.  His  deep  piety  and  fervid  zeal, 
his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  and  Discipline  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  95 

the  Church,  his  remarkable  capacity  to  govern  and  to  infuse 
into  the  preachers  his  own  spirit;  his  almost  morbid  love  of 
order,  and  his  methodical  manner  of  conducting  business;  his 
wonderful  astuteness  and  quickness  of  apprehension,  com- 
bined with  a  grave  and  yet  most  prepossessing  personal  appear- 
ance, and  his  wonderful  power  of  illustrating  whatever  he  sought 
to  teach — all  concurred  to  mark  him  as  preeminently  the  man 
for  the  people  and  the  country.  God  seems  to  have  raised  him 
up  for  this  very  position;  and  while  thousands  have  already 
blessed  God  for  it,  future  generations  of  Methodists  in  the  West 
and  South  will  look  back  with  gratitude  to  his  influence  in 
building  up  and  extending  the  work  of  God  in  this  wide  field  of 
his  operations.  How  much  Methodism  owes  to  him  for  its  suc- 
cess in  this  region  can  never  be  known  until  the  light  of  eternity 
shall  reveal  it. 

Never  did  the  Church  more  urgently  need  an  able  and  de- 
voted leader  to  guide  and  control  its  operations  than  did  the 
vast  district  to  which  Mr.  McKendree  was  assigned  at  the 
Western  Conference  of  1800.  Indications  of  religious  quicken- 
ing had  occurred  in  several  sections  of  the  country  in  1799;  and 
in  1800,  what  is  familiarly  known  as  "the  great  revival  in  the 
Western  country"  took  place.  Bishop  Asbury  had  not  visited 
them  since  1793.  The  district  had  been  left  without  a  pre- 
siding elder  at  their  last  Conference;  the  circuits,  which  were 
very  large,  had  but  one  preacher,  and  local  preachers  were 
quite  scarce.  Among  the  latter,  however,  the  names  of  John 
McGee,  Nathanael  Harris,  Benjamin  Northcut,  Philip  Taylor, 
and  others  deserve  notice;  while  among  the  few  itinerants 
scattered  over  the  region  William  Burke,  Henry  Smith,  John 
Sale,  John  Page,  Thomas  Wilkerson,  and  others  not  so  well 
known,  were  bold  and  powerful  ministers  of  Christ.  Among 
the  Presbyterians,  Messrs.  McGready,  William  McGee  (brother 
to  the  Methodist  preacher),  Rankin,  and  Hodge,  deserve  honor- 
able mention  for  their  talents  and  usefulness  in  this  revival. 

If  the  history  of  this  glorious  work  had  not  been  already  given 
to  the  public,  it  might  be  profitable  to  trace  the  progress  and 
results  of  it,  but  as  that  has  been  done  with  sufficient  minute- 
ness by  several  writers,  we  shall  only  add  that  it  seemed  to 
burst  forth  almost  simultaneously  in  various  places  in  Kentucky 
and  in  that  part  of  Middle  Tennessee  bordering  upon  the  line  of 
Kentucky.  Cane  Ridge,  Red  River,  and  Bourbon  County,  Ky., 
were  specially  the  places  where  the  work  received  a  mighty  im- 
pulse. Meetings  began  to  be  held  all  over  the  country,  attended 


96  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

by  immense  crowds  of  most  deeply  excited  hearers.  The  Pres- 
byterian and  Methodist  preachers  labored  together  as  brethren; 
a  "union"  was  formed;  the  large  meetings  were  placed  under 
the  charge  of  committees,  who  were  to  appoint  the  preachers  to 
the  pulpit  and  supervise  the  exercises  as  representatives  of  the 
two  Churches.  Camp  meetings  sprung  up  as  a  convenience,  if 
not  a  necessity.  The  revival  spread  with  unparalleled  rapidity 
and  overwhelming  power;  meetings  were  prolonged  day  and 
night  for  eight  or  ten  days  successively,  and  many  thousands  in 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Ohio  were  the  trophies  of  the  work. 
As  might  be  expected  in  so  widespread  and  general  a  state  of 
religious  excitement,  there  were  excesses  and  irregularities  among 
some  of  the  subjects.  The  exercises  known  as  jerks  and  dancing 
appeared,  although  discountenanced  generally  by  the  more 
intelligent  and  sedate  part  of  the  ministers  and  members.  A 
great  deal  of  enthusiasm  was  excited,  and  doubtless  some  fanat- 
icism also;  yet  a  vast  amount  of  good  was  accomplished  and 
many  who  seemed  to  act  from  impulse  and  ran  into  excesses  in 
manifesting  their  emotions  became  steady  and  consistent  Chris- 
tians and  closed  life  in  peace  and  hope.  The  Churches  had  a 
fresh  baptism  and  were  united  in  fraternal  love.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  peculiarities  of  Methodism — class  meetings,  love 
feasts,  and  the  regular  operations  of  the  itinerant  system — were 
suspended  for  the  occasion,  under  the  influence  of  the  "union 
agreement;"  and  the  supposed  Arminian  tendency  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbytery  and  their  refusal  to  withhold  licenses  from 
men  who  were  useful  and  acceptable  to  the  community  but  were 
not  classically  educated  brought  about  a  serious  and  permanent 
division  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

This  refusal  on  the  part  of  the  Cumberland  Presbytery  to 
abide  by  the  requirements  of  their  Church  resulted  in  the  seces- 
sion of  some  excellent  ministers  and  the  organization  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church.  This  Church,  having  ma- 
terially modified  the  Calvinism  of  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession, and  adopted  an  itinerant  system  of  preaching,  has 
accomplished  much  good  in  the  West  and  South  and  continues 
to  evince  that  it  is  a  true  branch  of  the  living  Vine. 

Mr.  McKendree  arrived  in  this  country  when  this  religious 
excitement  was  at  its  height,  and  passed,  along  with  his  vener- 
able traveling  companions,  through  Kentucky,  and  down  to 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  preaching  with  great  power  and  success  wher- 
ever he  went.  The  more  he  surveyed  the  field  of  his  future 
labor,  the  more  was  he  impressed  with  the  exceeding  delicacy 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  97 

and  difficulty  of  the  task  before  him.  He  clearly  saw  that  the 
time  of  sifting  and  of  trial  was  at  hand,  that  the  existing  state  of 
things  could  not  endure,  the  union  would  soon  terminate,  and 
that  the  least  impropriety  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  preachers 
would  be  quoted  as  a  violation  of  the  "agreement."  He  re- 
solved, if  he  could,  he  would  avoid  this  odium;  and  owing  to  his 
prudence  and  firmness,  the  Methodists  came  honorably  out  of 
this  entangling  alliance,  and  the  parties  resumed  the  proper  and 
independent  exercise  of  their  respective  Church  regulations 
without  a  serious  breach  of  esteem  and  brotherly  love.1 

Mr.  McKendree  was  now  in  a  position  which  called  forth  all 
the  qualities  of  his  mind  and  heart  and  taxed  to  their  utmost 
capacity  the  energies  of  his  manly  and  vigorous  body.  His 
eminent  piety  and  punctual  attention  to  all  the  rules  of  holy 
living  made  him  an  admirable  example  both  for  preachers  and 
members  and  gave  force  to  his  office  and  his  character.  His 
clear  apprehension  of  biblical  doctrines,  his  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  Methodism,  his  tact  in  simplifying  to  the  most 
ordinary  capacity  any  subject  which  he  had  studied,  his  persua- 
sive and  winning  manners,  united  to  a  remarkable  power  of 
close  and  logical  analysis,  blending  at  the  same  time  the  tender- 
est  pathos  with  an  occasional  burst  of  the  sublime  and  even  the 
terrible  in  his  moments  of  earnest  and  impassioned  eloquence, 
made  him  a  model  preacher,  and,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  gave 
great  efficiency  to  his  ministrations. 

Yet  all  these  qualifications,  however  important  to  his  useful- 
ness as  a  preacher,  would  not  have  insured  his  success  as 
the  presiding  officer  in  a  great  moral  and  religious  enter- 

!Qur  McKendree's  advice  to  preachers  and  people  was:  "Hold  fast  to 
your  doctrine  and  discipline.  Others  may  get  along  without  rule,  but  we 
cannot."  This  was  wholesome  and  seasonable  advice,  and  was  attended 
to.  It  gave  offense  to  some,  but  was  a  means  of  keeping  us  together,  and 
we  prospered.  But,  mournful  to  tell,  those  who  got  above  creeds,  forms, 
and  confessions,  while  they  professed  to  be  Christians,  went  from  one  ex- 
treme to  another,  till  three  of  their  most  zealous  and  flaming  ministers 
(Presbyterian)  landed  in  Shakerism;  one,  if  not  more,  became  an  Arian; 
one,  at  least,  went  among  the  Christians,  and  the  rest  held  fast  or  returned 
to  their  Confession  of  Faith. — H.  Smith's  "Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant," 
pp.  59,  60. 

The  Presbyterians  in  Cumberland  managed  their  revival  much  better; 
for  when  they  could  no  longer  subscribe  to  every  part  of  their  Confession 
of  Faith,  they  organized  an  independent  Presbytery,  into  which  they  ad- 
mitted men  of  gifts  and  usefulness,  without  requiring  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion, etc.— P.  60. 
7 


98  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

prise.  And  happily  these  were  not  all,  nor  were  they  his  chief 
qualifications  for  the  post  he  occupied.  He  had  a  mature  mind, 
a  sound  judgment,  a  determined  will,  and,  what  is  of  infinite 
importance  to  one  in  his  position,  could  arrange  and  plan  his 
work  with  a  view  to  ulterior  results  with  almost  unequaled 
skill;  and  what  he  planned  with  so  much  wisdom,  he  executed 
with  equal  ardor  and  perseverance.  Nothing  diverted  his  atten- 
tion from  the  work  of  God.  He  had  no  family  ties  demanding 
his  attention,  and  the  pecuniary  condition  of  those  most  nearly 
related  to  him  was  not  such  as  to  give  him  anxiety.  As  to 
wealth  and  honor,  he  spurned  them.  Personal  ease  had  no 
allurements  for  him.  If  ever  a  human  heart  loved  Jerusalem 
above  its  chief  joy,  loved  it  with  all  the  tenderness  and  strength 
of  a  pure,  deep,  and  filial  affection,  and  "drew  all  its  cares  and 
studies  this  way,"  his  was  that  heart  and  the  Methodist  Church 
was  to  him  as  a  precious  mother.  He  cared  little  about  aught 
else.  He  firmly  believed  that  Methodism,  in  its  doctrines,  was 
the  simplest  and  best  exponent  of  Scripture  truth,  that  its  moral 
regimen  was  practical  Christianity,  and  its  polity,  especially  its 
great  itinerant  system  of  preaching  the  gospel  sustained  by  an 
efficient,  impartial,  and  practical  general  superintendency,  was 
the  best  plan  yet  devised  for  the  universal  diffusion  of  religious 
truth;  and  honestly  and  cordially  believing  thus,  he  threw  him- 
self into  the  ranks  of  the  brave  and  true-hearted  who  gave  them- 
selves "a  living  sacrifice"  to  the  noblest  of  causes,  under  the 
conviction  that  he  had  nothing  too  good  to  give  to  such  an  ob- 
ject and  that  a  short  life  is  not  too  long  to  "apply  wholly  to  this 
one  thing."  So  had  he  vowed  in  this  solemn  ordination,  and 
that  vow  he  kept. 

The  late  Rev.  James  Gwin,  himself  a  resident  of  Tennessee 
and  for  many  years  a  useful  traveling  preacher  under  Mr.  Mc- 
Kendree, made  the  following  remarks  in  reference  to  his  peculiar 
qualifications  as  a  presiding  elder  on  frontier  work: 

"  Brother  McKendree,  having  been  appointed  to  the  charge  of 
the  Western  work,  soon  formed  a  plan  to  carry  the  gospel  to 
every  neighborhood.  He  employed  as  many  local  preachers  and 
exhorters  as  he  could  to  visit  the  uncultivated  regions,  and  they 
went  forth  and  the  Lord  went  with  them,  and  the  tidings  of 
salvation  were  soon  heard  in  almost  every  settlement.  In 
traveling  through  the  barrens  of  Kentucky,  he  found  a  place 
where  preaching  was  needed  and  sent  that  excellent  man, 
John  McGee,  to  it.  He  preached,  a  gracious  revival  followed, 
a  society  was  raised,  and  a  church  built.  As  I  commenced 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  99 

about  this  time  to  speak  in  public,  he  sent  me  to  visit  the  new 
settlement,  and  I  continued  preaching  from  place  to  place  until 
our  Conference  came  on;  then  I  was  received  into  the  traveling 
connection  on  trial.  The  business  of  Jesse  Walker  and  myself, 
who  were  received  at  the  same  time,  was  to  enlarge  the  work. 
.  .  .  The  work  spread  rapidly,  for  until  then  there  was  but  one 
circuit  in  all  the  region  about  Nashville  and  Gallatin.  Red 
River  and  Barren  Circuits  were  soon  formed,  then  Green  River 
and  Roaring  River  Circuits  were  added,  and  Brother  Walker 
went  on  forming  circuits  west  and  north  until  he  reached  the 
Ohio  River,  and  Brother  McKendree  devised  a  plan  to  carry 
the  gospel  west  of  the  Ohio  to  the  Mississippi  River.  And  as 
Louisiana  had  been  purchased  and  brought  into  our  government, 
he  sent  Brothers  Walker  and  Lewis  Garrett  to  make  a  trial  in 
that  region,  where  they  soon  succeeded  in  planting  the  standard 
of  the  cross." 

Dr.  Bangs  ("History  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Volume 
II,  p.  Ill)  says: 

"  Mr.  McKendree  was  the  life  and  soul  of  this  army  of  itiner- 
ants. Wherever  he  went,  both  by  precept  and  example,  he 
aroused  the  lukewarm  to  diligence,  confirmed  those  who  stood 
in  the  faith,  and  alarmed  the  fears  of  careless  sinners  by  his 
powerful  appeals  to  their  consciences .  By  this  means  many  local 
preachers  who  had  moved  into  the  country  were  induced  to 
forsake  their  secular  employments  and  enter  the  ranks  of  the 
itinerancy." 

The  district  to  which  Mr.  McKendree  was  appointed  in  1801 
was  called  Kentucky  District,  this  being  the  first  time  that 
names  were  given  to  districts.  Its  limits,  however,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  were  far  from  being  restricted  to  the  State  of 
Kentucky. 

The  ensuing  Conference  was  held  at  Ebenzer,  in  East  Ten- 
nessee, beginning  on  October  31,  1801.  Bishop  Asbury  was 
present,  and  says  in  his  Journal:  "Our  brethren  in  Kentucky  did 
not  attend;  they  pleaded  the  greatness  of  the  work  of  God." 
Mr.  McKendree  was  returned  to  his  former  district.  Natchez 
was  now  added  to  his  district,  and  Tobias  Gibson,  of  precious 
memory,  was  sent  to  that  work  as  the  only  itinerant  preacher 
in  all  that  region.  The  next  Conference  was  held  at  Strother's, 
or  Station  Camp,  in  Sumner  County,  Tenn.,  October  2,  1802, 
and  again  the  aged  but  indefatigable  Asbury  was  present,  al- 
though too  much  afflicted  to  be  able  to  preach.  He  says,  how- 
ever: "I  was  able  to  ordain  by  employing  Brother  McKendree 


100  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

to  examine  those  who  were  presented  and  to  station  the  preach- 
ers." The  Minutes  for  this  year  show  that  the  work  was  steadily 
advancing  in  the  West,  insomuch  that  it  was  now  found  neces- 
sary to  divide  it  into  three  districts,  Holston  and  Cumberland 
being  added  to  Kentucky,  Mr.  McKendree  continuing  upon  the 
last. 

Bishop  Asbury  continuing  in  very  infirm  health  and  suffering 
great  pain  from  exposure  and  long  rides  on  horseback,  Mr.  Mc- 
Kendree accompained  him  on  his  return  to  the  East,  through 
East  Tennessee.  Bishop  Asbury,-  in  his  Journal,  speaks  most 
respectfully  and  gratefully  of  his  kindness  to  him  on  this  trip 
and  frequently  alludes  to  his  preaching.  "  Brother  McKendree 
made  me  a  tent,"  says  Bishop  Asbury,  in  this  wilderness  jour- 
ney, "of  his  own  and  John  Watson's  blankets,  and  happily 
saved  me  from  taking  cold  while  I  slept  about  two  hours  under 
my  grand  marquee.  Brother  McKendree  threw  his  cloak  over 
the  limb  of  a  tree,  and  he  and  his  companion  took  shelter  under- 
neath and  slept  also.  I  think  I  will  never  more  brave  the  wilder- 
ness without  a  tent."  After  some  time  he  adds:  "I  have  been 
sick  for  twenty-three  days;  ah,  the  tale  of  woe  I  might  relate! 
My  dear  McKendree  had  to  lift  me  up  and  down  from  my  horse 
like  a  helpless  child.  For  my  sickness  and  suffering,  I  conceive, 
I  am  indebted  to  sleeping  uncovered  in  the  wilderness.  ...  On 
Monday,  November  8,  I  parted  from  my  dear  McKendree." 

Mr.  McKendree  spent  this  year  in  his  usual  manner.  He 
attended  Conference  at  Mount  Gerizim,  Harrison  County,  Kyv 
October  2, 1803.  The  work  was  enlarging  in  the  West,  and  the 
tide  of  emigration  so  astonishingly  rapid  that  Bishop  Asbury 
found  it  necessary  to  form  a  new  district  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
River,  with  William  Burke  as  presiding  elder.  Mr.  McKendree 
remained  on  the  Kentucky,  John  Watson  on  the  Holston,  and 
Lewis  Garrett  was  placed  upon  the  Cumberland  District. 

As  this  closed  his  fourth  year  upon  the  Kentucky  District, 
let  us  advert  to  the  increase  of  the  membership  which  had  oc- 
curred within  the  bounds  of  his  original  district.  The  General 
Minutes  show  that  in  1800  there  were  only  1,941  whites  and  116 
colored.  In  1804  there  were  11,141  whites  and  734  colored. 
Instead  of  one  district  there  were  four;  instead  of  11  traveling 
preachers,  they  now  numbered  45.  So  wonderfully  had  the 
work  extended  and  the  membership  multiplied,  that  we  are 
constrained  to  say:  "What  hath  God  wrought!"  Our  McKen- 
dree had  contributed  in  a  large  degree  to  this  unparalleled  sue- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  101 

cess,  and,  with  his  noble  colleagues,  deserves  to  be  held  forever 
in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  Church. 

On  May  7, 1804,  the  fourth  regular  General  Conference  began 
in  Baltimore,  and  closed  the  twenty-third.  Bishops  Coke, 
Asbury,  and  Whatcoat  were  present,  and,  of  course,  presided. 
One  hundred  and  seven  preachers  took  their  seats  as  entitled  to 
membership.1  William  Burke,  Thomas  Milligan,  and  John 
Watson  were  from  the  Western  Conference.  It  seems  that  Mr. 
McKendree  had  intended  to  go  to  this  Conference,  as  every 
preacher  who  had  traveled  four  years  had  a  right  to  do;  and 
that  he  received  money  to  pay  his  expenses  to  it;  but  from 
some  cause,  probably  because  he  thought  it  more  important  to 
stay  and  attend  to  his  charge,  or  probably  because  he  pre- 
ferred to  assist  Mr.  Burke,  he  declined  going,  and  handed  the 
money  over  to  the  latter,  adding  something  from  his  own  scanty 
purse. 

It  is  impossible  to  estimate  properly  the  importance  of  the 
service  which  this  faithful  and  wise  servant  of  Jesus  Christ 
rendered  to  the  cause  of  religion  and  of  Methodism  without 
considering  the  peculiar  state  of  things  in  the  West  about  this 
period.  The  revival,  which  began  in  1799  and  spread  like  a 
mighty  inundation  during  several  years  until  it  extended  over 
nearly  all  the  populated  sections  of  the  West  and  Southwest 
and  aroused  the  whole  Methodist  family  in  Europe  and  America 
to  new  and  more  vigorous  efforts,  seemed  to  have  so  excited  the 
minds  of  many  persons  upon  the  subject  of  religion  as  to  offer  an 
occasion  for  the  operation  of  seceders,  fanatics,  and  impostors. 
Not  only  was  it  necessary  to  defend  the  Church  against  the 
attacks  of  some  of  the  old  traveling  preachers  who  sought  to 
revolutionize  it  by  openly  advocating  in  the  West  Mr.  O'Kelly's 
notions  of  Church  government,  to  sustain  our  doctrines  against 
Calvinism  and  its  Antinomian  sequences,  and  the  ordinances  in 

lAs  Mr.  McKendree  was  not  present  at  this  General  Conference,  its  acts 
are  not  necessarily  connected  with  his  biography;  yet  it  may  net  be  out  of 
place  to  say  that  the  principal  business  of  the  session  was  a  careful  revision 
of  the  whole  book  of  Discipline;  that  it  was  taken  up  seriatim,  and  every 
chapter  and  section  calmly  and  critically  reviewed,  and  passed  by  an  al- 
most unanimous  vote.  It  was  the  general  impression  among  the  oldest  and 
most  influential  members  of  the  body  that  the  General  Conference  ought 
to  be  constituted  on  the  plan  of  an  equalized  representation,  according  to 
a  proper  ratio,  with  delegated  powers.  Indeed,  it  seems  this  was  the  pre- 
vailing sentiment;  but,  inasmuch  as  it  had  not  been  expected  by  all  the 
Annual  Conferences  that  this  change  would  now  be  made  and  as  no  plan 
had  been  matured  or  was  presented  for  this  purpose,  nothing  decisive  was 
done  in  1804,  leaving  to  the  ensuing  General  Conference  to  arrange  it. 


102  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

opposition  especially  to  the  popular  declamation  on  the  subject 
of  baptism,  but  it  was  equally  necessary  to  guard  against  the 
excesses  which  too  frequently  accompanied  this  glorious  revival 
of  the  work  of  God,1  excesses  which  astonish  and  humiliate  us 
who  are  so  far  removed  from  their  transaction,  but  some  of 
which  it  is  even  now  far  easier  to  denounce  than  to  account  for 
and  which  were  still  more  difficult  to  prevent  while  the  whole 
community  were  like  a  forest  agitated  by  a  tempest.  Unfortu- 
nately, some  of  those  having  a  high  reputation  for  piety,  and 
even  some  eminent  ministers  of  the  gospel,  especially  among  the 
Presbyterians,  gave  the  sanction  of  their  example  to  such  un- 
seemly bodily  exercises  as  jerking,  jumping,  running,  dancing, 
and  barking.  Many  pious  but  mistaken  persons  identified  these 
violent  spasmodic  actions  with  the  revival  itself  and  were  ready 
to  doubt  the  piety  of  a  preacher  who  might  seek  to  prevent 
them.  Alas  for  our  boasted  philosophy  when  we  are  suddenly 
brought  under  the  influence  of  novel  and  powerful  impulses, 
especially  when  subjects  of  a  mysterious  and  spiritual  character 
engross  the  mind!  Excitable  and  superstitious  natures,  under 
such  circumstances,  are  often  swept  from  the  moorings  of  reason 
and  common  sense  and  drift  out  into  the  dangerous  sea  of 
fanaticism.  Such  persons  too  often  become  the  victims  of  the 
cold  and  selfish  impostor,  who,  under  pretensions  to  piety  and 
zeal,  opens  in  the  temple  of  God  a  kind  of  moral  brokerage  in 
order  to  speculate  upon  the  errors  and  misfortunes  of  society! 
To  add  to  the  list  of  troubles,  about  this  time  a  company  of 
Shaking  Quaker  preachers  from  New  York  came  among  them 
with  their  new-fangled  doctrines  and  high  pretensions  to  spirit- 
ual impulses.  Their  pretended  zeal  and  piety  misled  many 
persons,  and  among  others  several  valuable  Presbyterian  min- 
isters and  a  number  of  unwary  members.  Mr.  Rankin,  who 
had  been  very  active  and  useful  in  the  great  revival,  abandoned 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  soon  became  a  leader  among  them. 
About  this  time  another  portion  seceded  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  who  were  called  by  different  names,  such  as  Marshall- 
ites,  Stoneites,  Schismatics,  etc.  These  affected  extraordinary 
zeal,  denounced  Confessions  of  Faith,  Church  discipline,  adopt- 
ed immersion  as  the  exclusive  mode  of  baptism,  and  were  under- 
stood to  have  imbibed  sentiments  derogatory  to  the  divinity 
of  the  Redeemer  with  other  tenets  which  affect  the  essentials  of 
Christianity.  Here,  again,  Presbyterian  ministers  seem  to  have 

:The  Rev.  Henry  Smith,  in  his  "Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant," 
page  50,  bears  his  testimony  to  the  value  of  Mr.  McKendree's  efforts  in 
these  respects. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  103 

led  off  in  these  dangerous  innovations.  But  amidst  this  con- 
vulsion in  the  religious  community,  the  Methodists  kept  on  the 
even  tenor  of  their  way,  adhering  to  their  excellent  Discipline  and 
uniformly  teaching  that  system  of  doctrine  which  they  had  long 
since  learned,  and  which  was  not  only  the  popular  but  the  use- 
ful doctrine  of  the  revival.1  William  McKendree,  although  not 
distinguished  like  some  of  his  associates  as  a  revivalist  in  the 
popular  sense  of  the  term,  yet  was  evidently  and  confessedly  the 
leader  and  planner  of  their  operations,  the  ablest  defender  of 
the  doctrines  and  polity  of  the  Church,  and  the  chief  conservator 
of  its  union  and  harmony.  His  counsels  gave  confidence,  his 
presence  inspired  the  timid  with  courage,  and  his  self-sacrificing 
and  consistent  course  exemplified  and  honored  the  character  of 
Methodist  itinerancy.  With  him  as  leader  under  God,  the 
preachers  and  people  felt  certain  of  success. 

Justice  to  his  fellow  laborers  requires  it  to  be  said  that  they 
were  worthy  of  their  captain.  And  surely  with  Bishops  Asbury 
and  Whatcoat  as  chief  counselors  and  with  such  colleagues  as 
William  Burke,  Learner  Blackman,  Jesse  Walker,  John  Sale, 
Thomas  Wilkerson,  Henry  Smith,  Tobias  Gibson,  Jacob  Young, 
Lewis  Garrett,  James  Gwin,  John  Page,  John  A.  Granade, 
John  Watson,  and  others  of  like  piety  and  zeal  the  cause  of  God 

irThe  venerable  Henry  Smith  narrates,  in  his  "  Recollections  of  an  Old 
Itinerant,"  the  following  facts  in  connection  with  this  subject: 

"By  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  C ,  Mr.  McNamar,  a  Presbyterian 

minister,  and,  of  course,  a  Calvinist,  went  to  hear  our  McKendree.  The 
subject  that  day  was  the  extent  of  the  atonement  and  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ.  Mr.  McNamar  was  so  charmed  with  the  simple  eloquence  of  the 
preacher  and  the  force  of  his  arguments  that  he  said  in  himself  as  he  went 
home:  'This  is  a  doctrine  that  is  calculated  to  do  good.'  It  so  wrought 
upon  his  mind  that  shortly  afterwards,  perhaps  the  next  Sabbath,  he  be- 
gan upon  the  same  heavenly  theme  in  his  own  congregation,  and  the 
mighty  power  of  God  came  down  upon  him  and  his  congregation  and  many 
of  them  fell  to  the  floor  under  it,  the  preacher  among  the  rest.  To  the  con- 
gregation this  was  strange  work,  but  not  so  strange  to  the  Methodists, 
for,  thank  the  Lord,  we  kept  the  fire  burning  in  the  midst  of  surrounding 
darkness  and  opposition.  Some  of  the  Methodists  began  to  talk  to  those 
in  distress,  and  also  sung  and  prayed;  but  some  of  the  elders  (who  were 
still  on  their  feet)  said,  'If  it  is  the  Lord's  work,  let  him  do  his  own';  but 
they  replied,  'The  Lord  works  by  means,'  and  persisted.  Some  soon 
found  peace  and  began  to  rejoice.  As  there  was  some  crowding  among 
those  who  were  down,  one  said:  'Don't  tread  on  Mr.  McNamar.'  He 
heard  it,  and  cried  out:  'Yes,  let  them  tread  on  me,  for  I  deserve  it.  O, 
if  I  and  my  congregation  had  been  called  to  judgment  a  few  weeks  ago, 
what  would  have  become  of  us?'  This  (he  adds)  was  the  beginning  of  the 
revival  in  the  eastern  part  of  Kentucky." — Pp.  63,  64. 


104  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

was  in  as  safe  hands  as  frail  humanity  often  affords.  And  now 
that  they  have  all  passed  away  with  not  a  solitary  exception, 
Gibson  and  Blackman  having  fallen  early  and  suddenly,  while 
Burke,  Wilkerson,  and  Garrett  have  but  recently  sunk  into  the 
grave,  as  the  sun  goes  slowly  down  on  a  long  summer's  eve,  we 
may  be  excused  from  saying,  that  in  labors,  privations,  practical 
sense,  profound  piety,  true  eloquence,  and  wonderful  success  in 
their  holy  calling  they  were  a  noble  band,  and  deserve  to  be  held 
in  perpetual  remembrance.  What  if  they  lived  poor,1  and  died 
"unhonored  and  unsung,"  their  graves  scattered  all  over  the 
great  valley  where  they  toiled  and  fell  at  their  posts,  with  few 
stones  to  mark  their  places  of  repose,  yet  their  "record  is  on 
high,"  and  tiieir  recompense  both  sure  and  glorious.  They 
trusted  all  to  God;  and  will  he  not  vindicate  his  own  truthful- 
ness? They  loved  the  Church  dearer  than  their  own  lives,  and 
their  names  must  never  be  forgotten. 

1From  a  memorandum  book,  very  neatly  kept  in  Mr.  McKendree's 
handwriting,  showing  "moneys  received  from  1799  to  1804  inclusive," 
we  make  the  following  synopsis,  premising  that  the  salary  of  a  preacher 
from  1784  to  1800  was  $64  per  annum,  equal  to  £19  4s.,  and  was  raised  to 
$80  at  the  General  Conference  of  1800: 

"Salary  deficient  four  quarters  1799,  on  the  Northern  District  of  Vir- 
ginia, £5  15s.  lid." 

Within  that  period  he  charges  himself  with  "  private  gifts  worth  £3  6s. 
Qd." — socks  being  valued  at  from  7s.  Qd.  to  6s.  per  pair;  and  then,  out  of 
the  pittance  of  about  $40 'which  he  received  on  a  hard  year's  work,  he 
"gave  away  to  the  poor,  and  other  charitable  objects,"  about  $10  more; 
so  that  he  subsisted  that  year  on  $30,  or  drew  upon  his  own  private  funds 
for  the  remainder;  and  yet  his  cash  account  for  that  year  shows  that  his 
actual  cash  expenses  amounted  to  £15  Os.  10 %d.,  exclusive  of  traveling 
expenses,  gifts,  etc.  This  was  almost  double  the  amount  he  received  in 
cash,  clothes,  etc. 

His  memorandum  from  1800  to  October,  1801,  shows  that,  although  his 
salary  was  raised  to  $80  per  annum,  he  only  received  three  dollars  the 
first  quarter,  and  two  dollars  for  the  next.  The  whole  deficiency  of  this 
year  was  £17  15s.  10d.,  showing  that  he  received  during  his  first  year's 
work  as  presiding  elder  in  the  West  about  twenty  dollars  only,  all  told, 
while  his  expenses  in  traveling  from  Virginia  to  the  West  and  for  necessary 
clothing  and  fare  must  have  greatly  exceeded  this  amount.  His  receipts 
for  the  next  year  amounted  to  $43.67,  making  a  deficiency  of  $36.23  for  1802, 
etc.  Nor  let  it  be  forgotten  that  he  charges  himself  in  the  above  with  all 
cash  and  clothing  received  as  private  gifts.  Such  was  then  the  rule,  and 
he  always  obeyed  the  law  of  the  Church.  Of  course,  traveling  preachers 
who  began  to  travel  poor,  remained  poor  while  they  itinerated.  "As 
poor,  yet  making  many  rich,  as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all 
things." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

McKendree  presides  at  the  Western  Conference,  1804 — Bishop  What- 
coat's  death,  1806 — McKendree  in  Illinois  and  Missouri —  Review  of 
the  work  in  the  West — Delegated  General  Conference  needed — A  bish- 
op wanted — New  York  plan  to  elect  one — Defeated  by  Virginia  Con- 
ference— General  Conference,  1808 — McKendree  made  bishop — His 
qualifications — Dr.  Coke's  letter. 

HAVING  followed  the  history  of  the  subject  of  this  biography 
to  the  fall  of  1804,  we  may  pass  along  with  the  remark  that  on 
October  2  of  this  year  the  Western  Conference  again  met  at 
Gerizim,  near  Cynthiana,  Ky .  Bishop  Asbury  having  been  taken 
ill  on  his  way  to  the  West,  neither  he  nor  Bishop  Whatcoat,  who 
accompanied  him,  was  able  to  attend  the  session.  The  failure 
of  the  bishops  to  reach  the  Conference  and  also  to  designate 
anyone  to  preside  devolved  upon  the  Conference  the  election  of 
its  President,  and  Mr.  McKendree,  having  received  the  vote  of 
the  Conference,  performed  the  duties  of  the  office  most  admir- 
ably. Several  preachers  were  admitted  on  trial  at  this  Con- 
ference who  subsequently  attained  considerable  notoriety  and 
most  of  whom  are  known  to  have  been  very  estimable  and 
highly  useful  men.  Among  them  were  Samuel  Parker,  the  sweet 
singer  in  Israel,  and  a  fine  specimen  of  nature's  noblemen  im- 
proved by  divine  grace;  Peter  Cartwright,  a  fearless,  rough,  and 
ready  man,  who  still  lives,  and  has  recently  written  his  own 
biography;  Miles  Harper,  my  first  colleague,  a  man  of  fine  order 
of  mind  by  nature,  a  revivalist,  with  rare  gifts  for  declamation, 
a  voice  of  unsurpassed  melody,  and  of  great  physical  capacity 
to  sustain  the  labor  of  the  saddle,  the  pulpit,  and  the  altar,  and 
who,  if  he  had  combined  with  all  his  other  qualities  greater  self- 
command,  might  have  stood  among  the  foremost;  James  Axley, 
whose  firmness  verged  on  sternness  and  his  candor  on  rudeness, 
but  withal  a  devoted,  laborious,  good  man,  kind  of  heart,  honest 
in  his  prejudices,  and  eccentric  from  the  want  of  early  advan- 
tages, and  Thomas  Lasley,  the  humble  and  faithful  preacher 
and  traveling  companion  of  Bishop  Asbury,  who,  with  Gibson, 
Blackman,  and  Bowman,  was  a  pioneer  in  Mississippi  and 
Louisiana,  whose  long  and  useful  life  has  but  recently  closed. 

This,  like  all  the  other  years  of  his  itinerant  life,  seems  to 
have  been  laboriously  and  efficiently  employed  in  the  duties  of 
his  holy  office.  The  revival  was  still  prevailing  in  many  sections 
of  the  western  country,  and  thousands  were  annually  being  con- 


106  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

verted  to  God.  His  district  occupied  all  his  time  and  energies, 
and  the  cause  of  God  prospered. 

On  October  2,  1805,  Conference  convened  in  Scott  County, 
Ky.  Bishop  Asbury  presided,  and  the  session  was  a  peaceful 
and  happy  one.  Mr.  McKendree  was  this  year  transferred  to 
the  Cumberland  District,  after  having  been  five  years  on  the 
Kentucky  District,  for,  although  some  slight  changes  had  been 
made,  yet  it  remained  substantially  the  same  work.  And  this 
seems  to  be  a  violation  of  the  rule  introduced  in  1792  limiting 
a  presiding  elder's  term  of  service  on  a  district  to  four  years.  I 
cannot  therefore  explain  it. 

The  Cumberland  District  was  not  only  a  new  field  of  opera- 
tions for  him,  but  it  was  a  much  more  extensive  one,  and  em- 
braced more  of  the  frontier  work;  for  it  included  not  only  all  the 
populated  portion  of  Middle  Tennessee,  but  an  appointment  in 
Illinois  also.  The  increase  of  members  reported  for  this  year 
justifies  the  conclusion  that  the  preachers  within  the  district 
were  faithful  and  acceptable,  and  we  doubt  not  the  presiding 
elder  did  his  part,  as  usual,  of  hard  service. 

The  Western  Conference  for  1807  was  held  at  Ebenezer 
Church,  Greene  County,  East  Tennessee,  September  20,  1806, 
from  which  he  was  returned  to  the  Cumberland  District.  Bish- 
op Asbury  attended  this  Conference,  and  in  his  Journal  he 
says:  "Sunday,  September  14,  I  preached  at  the  stand  in  the 
woods.  Brother  McKendree  followed.  It  was  a  season  of 
feeling.  .  .  .  Saturday,  September  20,  Western  Conference 
began,  and  ended  on  Monday.  There  are  fourteen  hundred 
added  within  the  bounds  of  this  Conference;  fifty-five  preachers 
stationed;  all  pleased."  Again:  "The  brethren  were  in  want,  so 
I  parted  with  my  watch,  my  coat,  and  my  shirt."  Bishop 
Whatcoat1  having  died  in  July,  1806,  Bishop  Asbury  preached  his 
funeral  sermon  at  this  Conference  as  was  his  custom  at  all  the 
Conferences  of  the  year.  This  was  a  year  of  great  labor  and 
privation  with  Mr.  McKendree,  for  he  not  only  attended  his 
regular  appointments  in  a  very  large  district,  but  made  a 
missionary  tour  into  Illinois  and  Missouri.  Jesse  Walker  had 
been  sent  to  Illinois  and  John  Travis  to  Missouri,  and  both  ap- 

^ichard  Whatcoat  was  born  in  Gloucestershire,  England,  1736;  be- 
came an  itinerant  preacher  in  1769;  came  to  the  United  States  in  1784; 
was  ordained  by  Mr.  Wesley  previously;  assisted  in  the  ordination  of  Mr. 
Asbury;  was  elected  bishop  in  1800;  and  died  in  Dover,  Del.,  July  5,  1806; 
a  holy,  faithful  man. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  107 

pointments  were  attached  to  Mr.  McKendree's  District.  The 
following  narrative  of  this  tour,  by  the  Rev.  James  Gwin,1  may 
be  interesting  to  those  who  delight  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  the 
brave  pioneer  preachers: 

In  the  year  1807,  Brother  McKendree,  A.  Goddard,  and  myself  set  out 
to  visit  the  settlements  of  Illinois.  We  crossed  Ohio  River,  took  the  wil- 
derness, and  traveled  until  night.  Not  being  able  to  get  to  any  habitation, 
we  camped  out.  Brother  McKendree  made  us  some  tea,  and  we  lay  down 
under  the  branches  of  a  friendly  beech  and  had  a  pleasant  night's  rest. 
Next  morning  we  set  out  early,  traveling  hard,  and  got  some  distance  into 
the  prairie,  and  here  we  took  up  for  the  night.  This  was  a  night  of  trouble. 
After  we  had  taken  a  morsel  to  eat  and  offered  up  our  prayers  to  God,  we 
lay  down  to  rest  and  fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  About  eleven  o'clock  Brother 
McKendree  awoke  and  found  our  horses  were  all  gone.  After  some  search, 
we  found  that  they  had  passed  over  a  small  stream  and  had  taken  back 
the  way  we  had  come.  Not  knowing  whether  they  had  been  stolen  or  had 
left  of  their  own  accord,  leaving  Brother  McKendree  at  our  camp,  Brother 
Goddard  and  myself  went  in  pursuit  of  them.  As  the  night  was  dark,  we 
got  dry  bark,  which  afforded  us  a  tolerable  light.  We  followed  their  tracks 
across  the  prairie  and  overtook  them  about  eight  o'clock  next  morning, 
having  traveled  fifteen  miles  on  foot.  The  next  night  we  reached  the  first 
settlement,  tarried  a  day  there,  and,  crossing  Kaskaskia  River,  we  reached 
Turkey  Hill  and  lodged  with  an  old  Brother  Scott.  Here  we  met  with 
Jesse  Walker,  who  had  formed  a  circuit  and  had  three  camp  meetings  ap- 
pointed for  us.  After  resting  a  few  days,  we  set  out  for  the  first  camp 
meeting.  In  twelve  miles  we  reached  the  Mississippi  and,  having  no 
means  of  taking  our  horses  across,  we  sent  them  back,  crossed  the  river, 
and,  with  our  baggage  on  our  shoulders,  went  to  the  camp  ground,  having 
fallen  in  with  Brother  Travis  on  the  way.  About  forty  were  converted  at 
this  meeting. 

Here  we  have  a  specimen  of  the  risks  and  fatigues  endured 
by  the  Methodist  itinerants  in  the  West  at  that  day.  "There 
were  giants  in  those  days."  Let  us  pursue  the  narrative: 

*The  following  statement,  appears  in  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal,  relating 
to  this  beloved  friend: 

"Wednesday,  September  28,  1808. — Yesterday  I  returned  to  James 
Gwin's  and  preached  here  to-day  with  great  delight  to  a  very  feeling  con- 
gregation. 

"Above  all  the  persons  of  my  acquaintance,  Brother  James  Gwin  has 
distinguished  himself  most  friendly  to  my  comfort.  Understanding  that 
I  have  a  dependent  father  and  sisters,  he  presented  me  with  three  hundred 
acres  of  excellent  land,  for  which  he  only  required  me  to  advance  an  incon- 
siderable sum  for  the  State  charges,  and  further  takes  upon  himself  the 
trouble  of  opening  a  plantation  and  building  a  cabin  for  their  reception.  O 
that  the  Father  of  mercies  may  remember  and  reward  him  and  his  for  all 
his  kindness,  to  me!"  • 


108  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

From  this  camp  meeting  we  returned  across  the  river  to  Judge  S.'s, 
who  refreshed  us  and  sent  forward  our  baggage  in  a  cart  to  Brother  Gar- 
rettson's,  where  our  next  meeting  was  to  be  held,  which  was  called  the 
Three  Springs.  We  arrived  on  Friday  morning  on  the  camp  ground,  which 
was  situated  in  a  beautiful  grove  surrounded  by  a  prairie.  A  considerable 
congregation  had  collected,  for  the  news  of  the  other  meeting  had  gone 
abroad  and  produced  much  excitement.  Some  were  in  favor  of  the  work 
and  others  were  opposed  to  it.  A  certain  major  had  raised  a  "  company  of 
lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort"  to  drive  us  from  the  ground.  On  Saturday, 
while  I  was  preaching,  the  major  and  his  company  rode  into  the  congrega- 
tion and  halted,  which  produced  considerable  confusion  and  alarm.  I 
stopped  preaching  for  a  moment  and  quite  calmly  invited  them  to  be  off 
with  themselves,  and  they  retired  to  the  spring  for  a  fresh  drink  of  brandy. 
The  major  said  he  had  heard  of  these  Methodists  before;  that  they  always 
broke  up  the  peace  of  the  people  wherever  they  went;  that  they  preached 
against  horse  racing,  card  playing,  and  every  other  kind  of  amusement. 
However,  they  used  no  violence  against  us,  but  determined  to  camp  on  the 
ground  and  prevent  us  from  doing  harm.  But  at  three  o'clock,  while 
Brother  Goddard  and  I  were  singing  a  hymn,  an  awful  sense  of  the  divine 
power  fell  on  the  congregation,  when  a  man  with  a  terrified  look  ran  to  me 
and  said:  "Are  you  the  man  that  keeps  the  roll?"  I  asked  him  what  roll. 
"That  roll,"  he  replied,  "that  people  put  their  names  to  who  are  going  to 
heaven."  I  supposed  he  meant  the  class  paper,  and  sent  him  to  Brother 
Walker.  Turning  to  Brother  Walker,  he  said,  "  Put  my  name  down,  if  you 
please,"  and  then  fell  to  the  ground.  Others  started  to  run  off  and  fell, 
some  escaped.  We  were  busy  in  getting  the  fallen  to  one  place,  which  we 
effected  about  sunset,  when  the  man  who  wished  his  name  on  the  roll  arose 
and  ran  off  like  a  wild  beast.  Looking  round  upon  the  scene  and  listening 
to  the  sobs,  groans,  and  cries  of  the  penitents  reminded  me  of  a  battle 
field  after  a  heavy  battle.  All  night  the  struggle  went  on.  Victory  was  on 
the  Lord's  side;  many  were  converted,  and  by  sunrise  next  morning  there 
was  the  shout  of  a  King  in  the  camp.  It  was  Sabbath  morning,  and  I 
thought  it  the  most  beautiful  morning  I  had  ever  seen.  A  little  after  sun- 
rise, the  man  who  had  run  off  came  back,  wet  with  the  dews  of  the  night 
and  with  strong  symptoms  of  derangement.  At  eleven  o'clock  Brother 
McKendree  administered  the  holy  sacrament;  and  while  he  was  dwelling 
upon  its  origin,  nature,  and  design  some  of  the  major's  company  were 
effected,  and  we  had  a  melting  time.  After  sacrament,  Brother  McKen- 
dree preached  to  a  large  congregation,  all  the  principal  men  of  the  country 
and  all  in  reach  who  could  get  there  being  present.  His  text  was  "Come, 
let  us  reason  together,"  and  perhaps  no  man  ever  managed  the  subject 
better,  or  with  more  effect.  His  reasoning  on  the  atonement,  the  great 
plan  of  salvation,  and  the  love  of  God  was  so  clear  and  strong  and  was 
delivered  with  such  pathos,  that  the  congregation  involuntarily  arose  to 
their  feet  and  pressed  toward  him  from  all  parts.  While  he  was  preaching, 
he  very  ingeniously  adverted  to  the  conduct  of  the  major,  and  remarked: 
"  We  are  Americans,  and  some  of  us  have  fought  for  our  liberty  and  have 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  109 

come  here  to  teach  men  the  way  to  heaven."  This  seemed  to  strike  the 
major,  and  he  afterwards  became  friendly  and  has  remained  so  ever  since. 
This  was  a  great  day.  The  work  became  general,  the  place  was  awful, 
and  many  souls  were  born  of  God.  Among  the  rest  was  our  wild  man. 
His  history  is  a  peculiar  one.  He  lived  in  the  American  Bottom,  had  a 
fine  estate,  and  was  a  professed  deist.  He  told  us  that  a  few  nights  before 
we  passed  his  house  he  dreamed  that  the  day  of  judgment  was  at  hand, 
and  that  three  men  had  come  from  the  East  to  warn  the  people  to  prepare 
for  it;  that  so  soon  as  he  saw  us  he  became  alarmed,  believing  we  were  those 
men;  and  having  ascertained  where  we  were  from,  who  we  were,  and  where 
going,  he  came  to  the  camp  meeting.  He  became  a  reformed  and  good 
man. 

Brother  G  win's  narrative  continues: 

We  went  to  Goshen  Camp  Meeting.  Here  we  had  comfortable  camps 
and  an  arbor  large  enough  to  shelter  seven  hundred  persons,  in  the  form 
of  an  L.  The  stand  was  in  an  unsheltered  spot  between  the  two  squares. 
We  had  also  a  small  log  meetinghouse,  in  which  our  first  quarterly  meeting 
was  held.  Preaching  began  on  Friday,  and  was  kept  up  regularly.  The 
people  having  heard  of  the  revival  at  the  other  meetings  flocked  out  in 
great  numbers,  many  to  see  the  strange  work.  Some  brought  brandy  and 
cards  for  their  amusement  during  the  meeting.  On  Friday  and  Saturday 
the  word  preached  seemed  to  do  little  good.  An  awful  cloud  seemed  to  rest 
upon  us.  In  passing  the  door  of  the  preachers'  tent,  I  saw  Brother  McKen- 
dree alone,  bathed  in  tears.  I  stepped  in,  and  he  said  to  me:  "Brother,  we 
have  been  preaching  for  ourselves  and  not  for  the  Lord.  Go,  brother,  and 
preach  Christ  crucified  to  the  people."  My  heart  was  deeply  affected. 
We  fell  upon  our  knees  and  implored  the  help  of  God.  This  was  about 
sunset.  I  preached  at  candle  lighting.  My  text  was:  "Behold  the  man." 
It  commenced  raining  shortly  after  I  began  to  preach,  and,  as  the  audience 
was  under  shelter,  I  did  not  stop,  although  exposed  to  the  rain.  My  heart 
was  fired  and  my  tongue  loosened  in  an  unusual  manner.  For  a  few  mo- 
ments nothing  but  sobs  and  sighs  were  heard  among  the  people,  at  length 
the  whole  congregation  seemed  suddenly  smitten  with  the  power  of  God. 
Many  fell  as  in  battle  and  were  presently  raised  to  tell  of  pardoning  mercy 
and  encourage  others  to  seek  the  Lord.  We  continued  all  night  in  the  work. 
On  the  next  day,  Sunday,  9  A.M.,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered. 
It  was  a  memorable  day,  and  eternity  only  will  reveal  the  result.  One  con- 
version deserves  particular  notice.  An  Indian,  of  the  Chickamauga  tribe, 
on  a  hunting  trip,  fell  in  with  us  at  our  camp  meeting.  I  will  give  his  own 
account  of  his  conversion.  He  said:  "When  I  saw  so  many  people,  I 
thought  I  would  stop  and  get  some  whisky;  and  while  you  were  talking  in 
the  rain,  I  was  standing  by  a  sapling,  and  there  came  on  me  a  mighty 
weight,  too  heavy  for  me  to  stand  under.  I  caught  the  sapling,  but  my 
hands  would  not  hold  it,  and  I  fell  to  the  ground;  while  there,  blackness 
came  over  me;  I  tried  to  get  away,  but  could  not  until  about  daylight.  I 
thought  surely  I  had  been  drunk;  but  then  I  remembered  I  had  nothing  to 


110  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

drink,  although  I  concluded  not  to  go  back;  yet  when  they  began  to  sing, 
something  drew  me  back,  and  before  I  knew  it  I  was  among  them  again, 
and  then  the  same  weight  came  on  me  and  the  darkness;  I  fell  to  the 
ground  and  thought  I  was  about  to  die.  I  tried  to  get  up,  but  was  too 
weak.  At  last  a  white  man  came  and  talked  over  me;  and  while  he  was 
talking,  it  got  lighter  and  lighter,  and  everything  looked  whiter  than  the 
sun  could  make  it  look.  The  heavy  load  and  the  blackness  all  left  me; 
I  felt  glad  in  my  heart  and  jumped  up  and  felt  light!" 

Brother  Gwin  says  that  he  saw  the  poor  savage  when  he  arose, 
and  as  he  knew  but  few  English  words,  he  cried  in  ecstasy: 
"Good,  good,  good!" 

The  narrator  adds  that  arrangements  were  made  to  send  this 
Indian  to  school;  that  he  soon  learned  to  read  and  write,  and 
that  at  the  last  account  of  him  he  was  trying  to  "walk  in  the 
light." 

"On  Monday,  the  last  day  of  the  meeting,  one  hundred  joined 
the  Church." 

Mr.  McKendree  has  also  left  a  concise  reference  to  this  tour, 
in  which  he  notices  the  following  facts :  The  camp  meeting  they 
attended  across  the  Mississippi  River,  and  consequently  in  the 
present  State  of  Missouri,  was  the  first  meeting  of  the  kind  ever 
held  on  the  northwest  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  that  they 
walked  about  forty  miles  in  getting  to  it.  He  further  says: 
"Four  Sabbaths  excepted,  I  have  attended  popular  meetings 
every  week  since  the  beginning  of  February,  in  which  time  I 
have  rode  about  2,700  miles  through  the  wilderness  to  the  Illi- 
nois and  back,  spent  considerable  time  in  the  most  sickly  part 
of  that  and  this  country,  and  yet,  blessed  be  God,  my  health 
and  strength  have  been  preserved."  This  trip  occupied  about 
two  months  and  was  the  commencement  of  a  glorious  revival 
across  the  Ohio  and  upon  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi. 

Such  was  the  manner  of  life  of  the  devoted  McKendree  and 
of  his  indefatigable  and  heroic  associates,  such  their  faith  and 
zeal,  and  such  the  wonderful  success  with  which  God  crowned 
their  "labor  of  love." 

The  ensuing  Conference  was  held  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 14, 1807.  Bishop  Asbury,  then  our  only  bishop  in  Amer- 
ica, was  present,  and  says  of  it:  "On  Monday  we  opened  our 
Conference  in  great  peace  and  love,  and  continued  until  Fri- 
day. A  delegation  of  seven  members  was  chosen  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference.  There  were  thirteen  preachers  added,  and  we 
found  an  addition  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  members  to 
the  society  in  these  bounds;  seven  deacons  were  elected  and 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  111 

ordained  and  ten  elders;  two  preachers  only  located,  sixty-five 
were  stationed." 

Mr.  McKendree  was  doubtless  reappointed  to  the  Cumber- 
land District,  but  as  the  General  Conference,  which  changed  his 
relation,  came  on  before  the  Minutes  were  published,  the  name 
of  his  successor,  James  Ward,  is  put  down  as  its  presiding  elder. 

As  this  year  closes  the  labors  of  Mr.  McKendree  as  pre- 
siding elder,  let  us  briefly  review  the  progress  of  the  Church  in 
the  West  since  he  took  charge  of  the  only  district  it  contained 
in  1800.  Then  there  were  1,741  members,  white  and  colored; 
now — i.  e.,  1808 — the  Western  Conference  numbered  16,887 
members.  Then  Mr.  McKendree  was  the  leader  of  the  only 
band,  a  forlorn  hope,  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  work  by  an 
extensive  wilderness,  full  of  warlike  and  cruel  savages,  having 
only  eleven  preachers.  In  1808,  that  one  district  had  expanded 
into  five,  with  sixty-six  preachers;  and  the  cause  of  God  was 
advancing  and  gaining  firm  footing  throughout  the  vast  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  The  Methodism  planted  by  the  heroic  and 
holy  pioneer  preachers  in  this  region  was  truly  Wesleyan;  no 
wild  and  spurious  offshoot  of  the  original  stock,  producing 
fanaticism  and  degrading  its  disciples,  but  a  genuine  root  of 
the  true  vine  which  Paul  planted,  Apollos  watered,  which  Lu- 
ther pruned,  and  Wesley  nourished,  and  whose  fruitful  foliage 
was  now  rapidly  spreading  over  England,  the  West  Indies,  and 
the  great  Western  Continent.  Its  fruit  was  healing  the  chronic 
ulcers  of  the  nations.  It  introduced  order,  social  and  moral, 
it  subdued  the  vices,  restrained  the  passions  and  vitiated  appe- 
tites, refined  the  taste,  enlightened  the  minds  of  men,  and 
spread  peace  and  happiness  through  society.  It  instituted  an 
unequaled  system  of  propagandism,  the  very  plan  introduced 
by  the  great  Master  himself,  and  called  forth  the  moral  heroism 
of  martyrs  in  its  ministers.  Its  doctrines  were  scriptural,  its 
forms  and  ceremonies  simple  and  significant,  its  spirit  catholic, 
its  discipline  strictly  evangelical,  and  its  system  of  government 
subordinated  to  the  great  cardinal  object  of  spreading  scrip- 
tual  holiness  over  all  lands  by  an  itinerant  ministry.  No  won- 
der it  succeeeded;  it  would  have  been  far  more  wonderful  if  it 
had  not.  Every  attribute  of  the  Godhead  was  on  its  side,  and 
every  intercession  of  the  world's  Redeemer  was  virtually  a 
prayer  and  a  pledge  of  its  triumph.  The  highest  interests  of 
humanity  were  involved  in  its  efforts,  and  some  of  the  purest 
and  noblest  of  earth  sacrificed  their  earthly  all  in  its  behalf. 

At  the  Western  Conference,  held  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  in 


112  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

September,  1807,  to  which  we  have  already  adverted,  seven 
delegates  were  elected  to  represent  the  body  in  the  approaching 
General  Conference,  five  of  whom  attended  it.  They  were 
William  McKendree,  William  Burke,  John  Sale,  Benjamin  Lakin, 
and  Elisha  W.  Bowman.  The  New  England  Conference  also 
sent  seven  representatives,  while  from  New  York  there  were 
nineteen;  South  Carolina,  eleven;  Virginia,  eighteen;  Baltimore, 
thirty-one;  and  Philadelphia,  thirty- two — making  in  all  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five,  instead  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Bangs  and  Dr.  Lee,  both  of  whom  give 
the  Western  Conference  eleven  instead  of  seven.1 

The  General  Conference  which  began  May  6,  1808, 2  in 
Baltimore,  was  the  most  important  session  which  had  ever  been 
held.  The  organization  of  the  Church,  so  far  as  respects  the 
inauguration  of  the  episcopal  form  of  government  by  the 
Christmas  Conference  of  1784,  which  was  hastily  convened, 
and,  of  course,  was  not  a  general  attendance  of  the  preachers, 
particularly  as  to  the  Conferences  remote  from  the  place  of  its 
session,  was  certainly  an  important  event,  whether  we  call  it 
a  General  or  Special  Conference.  Its  acts  were  acquiesced  in 
by  the  whole  Church  and  were  authoritative.  But  it  was  soon 
evident  that  in  order  to  give  unity,  harmony,  and  efficiency 
to  the  Church  something  more  was  indispensable;  for  however 
unanimous  in  doctrines  and  in  the  outlines  of  Church  polity 
the  preachers  and  members  appear  to  have  been,  and  really 
were,  and  however  strong  their  attachment  to  the  bishops  as 
general  superintendents  of  the  whole  work,  yet  while  each 
Annual  Conference  claimed  the  power  to  change  any  part  of  the 
Discipline,  not  excepting  even  the  Articles  of  Faith,  the  basis 
of  their  organization,  it  must  be  evident  that  some  other  and 
stronger  bond  was  necessary  than  yet  existed  to  insure  perma- 
nent union.  The  itinerant  general  superintendency  feature  of 
the  system  was,  it  is  true,  a  highly  conservative  element,  and 
the  respect  and  regard  felt  by  all  for  the  character  of  Mr. 
Asbury  was  a  guaranty  against  a  disruption  of  the  body  except 
under  strongly  exciting  circumstances.  Such  circumstances 

bang's  "History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  195; 
"Life  and  Times  of  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,"  p.  431;  Asbury 's  Journal,  Vol. 
III.,  p.  268;  "Life  of  Bishop  Roberts,"  by  Dr.  Elliott,  pp.  156-8;  "Life  of 
Bishop  Redding,"  p.  171. 

2Dr.  Bangs  and  Dr.  Clark  have  both  erred  as  to  this  date.  See  "  History 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  195;  "Life  and  Times  of 
Bishop  Hedding,"  p.  171. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  113 

might  arise,  and  that  good  and  far-seeing  man,  in  common  with 
other  wise  and  devoted  friends  of  the  Church,  felt  exquisitely 
the  importance  of  introducing  the  principle  of  representation 
into  the  government  and  by  restricting  the  Conferences  in  their 
separate  capacity  from  the  exercise  of  a  direct  power  over 
fundamental  questions  to  concentrate  this  authority,  under  con- 
stitutional provisions,  in  the  representative  body.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  Church  at  this  period  was  somewhat  similar  to  that 
of  the  civil  government  of  the  thirteen  colonies  during  the  Rev- 
olutionary War  and  until  the  formation  and  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution.  And  as  the  highest  principles  of  patroit- 
ism  induced  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Hamilton,  Jay, 
and  Madison  to  advocate  a  constitutional  union  in  the  place 
of  the  old  confederation,  so,  actuated  with  the  highest  sense  of 
piety  and  duty,  our  Asbury,  Lee,  McKendree,  Bruce,  Burke, 
Cooper,  Soule,  and  Garrettson  united  their  efforts  to  concen- 
trate the  law-making  department  of  the  Church  in  a  General 
Conference  under  constitutional  "limitations  and  restrictions." 
The  conviction  was  so  strong  among  the  older  and  wiser 
members  of  the  connection  that,  as  we  have  seen,  "the  council" 
system  was  introduced  with  a  hope  that  it  would  answer  the 
ends  proposed.  But  it  failed  in  1792,  not  less  from  its  own  in- 
trinsic imperfection  than  on  account  of  the  opposition  it  en- 
countered from  Mr.  0' Kelly.  In  the  General  Conference  of 
1804,  the  propriety  of  a  delegated  representative  body  was  felt 
and  admitted,  but  as  the  preparatory  steps  had  not  been  taken 
for  the  immediate  introduction  of  the  principle,  by  common  con- 
sent the  plan  was  deferred  until  1808,  when  all  the  Conferences 
could  meet  the  question  after  mature  deliberation.  It  was 
therefore  understood  throughout  the  whole  Church  that  at  this 
Conference  the  organization  of  the  Church  should  be  completed 
by  some  general  measures  which  would  effect  a  centralization 
of  power  in  a  delegated  body  having  supreme  legislative  jurisdic- 
tion. Indeed,  the  sense  of  insecurity  was  so  strongly  and  gener- 
ally felt  in  reference  to  the  episcopacy  itself,  after  the  death  of 
Bishop  Whatcoat  in  1806  and  the  failure  of  the  health  of  Bishop 
Asbury,  consequent  upon  the  excessive  fatigue  and  anxiety 
devolved  upon  him,  that  many  of  the  preachers  thought  it 
advisable  to  call  a  special  convention  of  seven  delegates  from 
each  Conference  for  the  exclusive  object  of  electing  another 
bishop,  lest  the  death  of  Mr.  Asbury  before  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1808  might  endanger  the  stability  of  the  Church. 
With  this  view,  "a  plan  agreed  upon  by  the  New  York  Confer- 


114  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ence  to  organize  and  establish  a  permanent  superintendency 
over  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  and 
recommended  to  the  other  six  Conferences  for  their  concur- 
rence," was  carried  round  to  the  Conferences  and  laid  before 
them  by  Bishop  Asbury.  This  plan  proposed  that  the  forty- 
nine  delegated  members,  or  electors,  should  convene  in  Balti- 
more, July  4,  1807,  "for  the  express  purpose,  and  with  full 
powers,  to  elect,  organize,  and  establish  a  permanent  superin- 
tendency and  for  no  other  purpose."  The  original  document 
now  lies  before  the  writer. 

Signed  by  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Conference. 

FREEBORN  GARRETTSON, 
EZEKIEL  COOPER, 
SAMUEL  COATE, 

FRANCIS  WARD,  Secretary.  Committee. 

Done  at  New  York,  May  22,  1806. 

Appended  to  this  circular  are  the  following  interesting  en- 
tries in  the  autographs  of  the  subscribers: 

The  New  England  Conference  concur  with  the  proposal  made  by  the 
New  York  Conference  for  calling  a  delegated  General  Conference  on  July 
4,  1807,  for  the  express  purpose  of  strengthening  the  superintendency. 
Yeas,  28;  nays,  15.  THOMAS  BRANCH,  Secretary. 

The  Western  Conference  concur  with  the  proposal  made  by  the,  etc. 
"Unanimity."  WILLIAM  BURKE,  Secretary. 

The  South  Carolina  Conference  concur,  etc.  Two  members  only 
excepted.  .  LEWIS  MYERS,  Secretary. 

VIRGINIA  CONFERENCE,  NEWBERN,  February  6,  1807.  The  New  York 
Conference  having  written  a  circular  letter  to  the  several  Annual  Confer- 
ences proposing  a  plan  to  strengthen  the  superintendency,  the  letter  was 
read  in  this  Conference  yesterday,  and  a  vote  taken,  "Shall  we  consider 
the  subject?  "  Only  seven  were  in  favor  of  the  motion.  The  subject  was 
called  up  again  to-day,  and  a  second  vote  was  taken;  fourteen  were  in  favor 
of  it.  It  is  therefore  the  decision  of  Conference  not  to  be  concerned  in  it. 
Signed  in  and  by  order  of  the  Conference.  ' 

P.  BRUCE, 

JESSE  LEE, 

THOMAS  L.  DOUGLASS, 

Secretary. 

There  were  34  members  at  the  Conference;  33  were  present  when  the 
vote  was  taken,  and  the  absent  member  said  he  would  have  voted  for  it  if 
he  had  been  in  the  room.  THOMASS  L.  DOUGLAS,  Secretary. 

There  is  also  an  original  paper,  under  date  of  Newbern, 
N.  C.,  February  8, 1807,  expressing  the  dissent  of  Philip  Bruce, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  115 

Stith  Mead,  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  and  John  Buxton  to  the 
action  of  the  Virginia  Conference  in  refusing  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  circular  of  the  New  York  Conference.  "It  ap- 
pearing to  us  both  injudicious  and  impolitic  to  refuse  hearing  a 
debate  on  anything  which  so  nearly  concerns  the  general  wel- 
fare and  union  of  our  Church,  more  especially  as  we  must  from 
principle  avow  the  propriety  of  equal  representation;  secondly, 
respecting  their  refusing  to  hear  the  letters  from  our  brethren 
composing  the  six  preceding  Conferences  to  ours  in  answer  to 
Dr.  Coke,"  etc.  They,  however,  attribute  the  course  pursued 
by  the  Conference  "to  the  state  of  our  Conference,  being  com- 
posed of  more  than  one-third  young  men,  and  the  vehement 
outcries  of  'Rebellion/  'Worse  than  Burr/  'Of  Forswearing,' 
Dividing  the  connection!'  etc.,  raised  by  two  of  our  elder 
brethren — J.  Lee  and  D.  Hall — which  so  alarmed  the  young 
men  that  they  were  afraid  to  hear  or  see  the  letters  or  submit 
to  the  debate  upon  the  address  from  New  York." 

Mr.  Lee's  resistance  of  this  measure  has  been  justified  by  the 
results  of  the  General  Conference  ensuing  and  vindicated  by 
his  able  biographer.  It  was  an  extraordinary  measure  to  meet 
a  contingency  which  did  not  occur  before  the  meeting  of  the 
body  which  had  the  legal  control  of  the  question  and  might  have 
been  a  dangerous  precedent.  And  it  may  well  be  feared  that  if 
this  evident  necessity  for  General  Conference  action  had  been 
anticipated  in  1807,  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  representative 
principle  in  1808  and  to  impose  a  constitutional  check  both  upon 
the  Annual  and  General  Conferences  might  not  have  been  suc- 
cessful, inasmuch  as  their  necessity  would  not  have  been  so 
imperatively  felt.  So  that,  however  grieved  Mr.  Asbury  may 
have  been  at  the  defeat  of  this  attempt  to  call  a  General  Con- 
ference, yet,  as  it  resulted  in  rendering  evident  the  indispen- 
sableness  of  a  delegated  General  Conference  to  the  permanency, 
unity,  and  efficiency  of  the  Church  and  thus  contributed  to 
this  most  important  result,  neither  he  nor  others  could  regret 
the  failure.  I  confess,  however,  I  have  not  found  any  evidence 
that  Bishop  Asbury  felt  very  great  solicitude  about  the  matter, 
certainly  there  is  none  in  the  remarks  made  in  his  Journal  about 
the  Virginia  Conference,  for  there  is  not  the  remotest  intimation 
that  he  "labored"  at  all  for  that  "dangerous  plan,"  much  less 
that  he  "labored  hard"  for  it. 

The  failure  of  the  New  York  plan  by  the  nonconcurrence  of 
the  Virginia  Conference  did  not  deter  the  former  Conference 
from  sending  a  memorial  to  the  General  Conference  in  favor 


116  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  organizing  a  delegated  body  to  meet  at  regular  periods.  The 
vast  extent  of  the  work,  the  number  of  elders,  each  of  whom 
was  entitled  to  a  seat,  the  loss  of  time,  the  great  expense  of  all 
who  should  attend,  the  preponderance  which  the  central  Con- 
ferences had  always  enjoyed  and  would  always  have  in  the 
number  of  members,  besides  the  inutility  of  so  large  a  body  for 
legislative  purposes,  and,  finally,  the  necessity  for  it  as  a  bond  of 
union  to  the  several  Annual  Conferences  were  clearly  and 
strongly  set  forth.  It  was  the  great  question  of  the  Conference, 
and  upon  its  fate  rested  the  prosperity,  if  not  the  future  exist- 
ence, of  the  Church. 

The  memorial  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  fourteen,  two 
from  each  Conference.  William  McKendree  and  William  Burke 
were  chosen  from  the  Western  Conference.  On  Monday,  the 
16th,  the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  the  measure,  sub- 
mitting a  plan  for  a  delegated  General  Conference  substantially 
the  same  as  that  now  found  in  the  third  section  of  the  Disci- 
pline. Dr.  Elliott,  in  his  "Life  of  Bishop  Roberts,"  says:  "On 
the  first  meeting  of  the  committee,  they  conversed  largely  on 
the  provisions  which  their  report  to  the  Conference  should  con- 
tain. After  considerable  deliberation,  they  agreed  to  appoint 
a  subcommittee  of  three  to  draft  a  report  to  be  submitted  to 
Conference,  subject,  however,  to  such  additions  or  modifications 
as  a  future  meeting  of  the  whole  committee  might  see  fit  to 
make.  The  subcommittee  consisted  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  Joshua 
Soule,  and  Philip  Bruce.  When  the  subcommittee  met,  it  was 
agreed,  after  a  full  exchange  of  sentiments,  that  each  should 
draw  up  a  separate  paper  comprising  the  necessary  restrictions 
or  regulations  in  the  best  way  he  could,  and  that  each  should 
present  his  form  in  writing,  and  they  would  then  adopt  the  one 
deemed  best,  with  such  amendments  as  might  be  agreed  upon. 
When  the  subcommittee  met  to  examine  their  plans,  Mr.  Coop- 
er had  his  regularly  drawn  up,  Mr.  Soule  also  had  one,  but  Mr. 
Bruce  had  nothing  committed  to  writing.  On  comparing  the 
two  papers,  Mr.  Bruce  fell  in  with  the  main  points  of  the  one 
brought  forward  by  Mr.  Soule.  Mr.  Cooper  pleaded  for  his  own 
with  his  usual  ability,  but  he  finally  agreed  to  Mr.  Soule's 
plan,  with  some  slight  additions  or  amendments  suggested  by 
the  others.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  whole  committee,  al- 
though the  plans  of  Messrs.  Cooper  and  Soule  were  both  before 
them,  Mr.  Soule's  was  adopted  by  all  the  members,  with  some 
slight  modifications." 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  when  the  report  came  before  the  Con- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  117 

ference,  a  long  and  animated  debate  ensued.  Some  were  in 
favor  of  representation  by  seniority,  and  others  of  the  election 
of  delegates.  The  report  favored  the  elective  principle,  and  the 
remote  Conferences  were  generally  in  favor  of  it,  but  the  central 
ones,  such  as  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  were  opposed  to  it. 
It  was  rejected  on  the  18th,  by  57  yeas,  65  nays.1  Very  great 
dissatisfaction  was  manifested  at  this  decision,  and  the  New 
England  and  Western  members,  having  previously  agreed  to 
leave  upon  the  failure  of  this  effort,  the  New  England  delegates 
arose  and  asked  leave  to  retire  and  return  to  their  work,  as  they 
could  be  of  no  further  use  in  the  Conference,  giving  assurance, 
at  the  same  time,  that  they  would  not  create  any  difficulty  in 
the  Church,  but  peaceably  go  home  and  attend  to  the  duties  of 
their  work.  William  Burke  arose  and  made  the  same  request 
for  the  Western  Conference  delegates.  Six  members  from  New 
England  and  two  from  the  West  retired  in  a  body  and  began  to 
make  preparations  for  their  journey.  But  Bishop  Asbury  and 
Mr.  McKendree  sought  an  interview  with  them  and  others 
sympathizing  with  them,  and,  aided  by  the  wise  and  prudent 
Elijah  Hedding,  prevailed  on  them  to  wait  a  day  and  see  if  a 
reconsideration  of  the  question  could  not  be  effected  leading  to 
a  different  result.  They  did  remain;  the  report  was  again  taken 
up.  The  delegates  from  the  central  Conferences,  two  of  which 
constituted  almost  a  majority  of  the  whole  body,  saw  that  it 
was  necessary  to  adopt  it  to  save  the  integrity  of  the  Church; 


.  Cooper's  plan  differed  from  Mr.  Soule's  on  the  third  Article,  by 
saying,  "They  shall  not  do  away  episcopacy,  nor  reduce  our  ministry  to  a 
Presbyterial  parity,"  while  Mr.  Soule's  was  as  it  now  stands  in  the  Disci- 
pline. The  committee  of  fourteen  approved  the  latter  and  reported  it  to 
the  Conference.  The  prominent  advocates  of  Mr.  Cooper's  plan  in  the 
Conference  were  himself  and  John  Wilson.  Mr.  Lee  is  understood  to  have 
opposed  the  whole  thing  upon  the  plea  of  "Conference  rights,"  leading  to 
"electioneering,"  etc.,  and  to  have  defeated  it  temporarily  by  advocating 
seniority  in  preference  to  the  election  of  delegates.  When  the  subject  was 
reconsidered,  Mr.  Soule,  seconded  by  George  Pickering,  moved  to  amend 
the  first  Article  by  inserting  "seniority  or  choice,"  thus  leaving  the  mode  of 
obtaining  the  delegate  to  the  discretion  of  the  Conferences.  Mr.  Lee  was 
silent  after  this,  and  it  passed  by  a  large  majority.  The  biographer  of  Mr. 
Lee,  to  whom  the  writer  feels  deeply  indebted  for  his  able  and  reliable 
work,  claims  that  the  third  Restrictive  Article  originated  with  Mr.  Lee. 
This  error  may  be  readily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Lee  moved 
its  adoption  in  Conference  as  Mr.  Soule  had  reported  it.  But  Bishop 
Soule  undoubtedly  originated  it.  The  above  explanations  are  from  the  lips 
of  Bishop  Soule  himself. 


118  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  after  mature  deliberation  and  considerable  discussion,  a 
compromise  was  agreed  upon  between  Messrs.  Soule  and 
Cooper,  representing  the  elective  and  seniority  parties,  by  giv- 
ing to  the  Annual  Conferences,  respectively,  the  right  of  select- 
ing their  delegates  in  either  way,  and  then  the  general  plan  of 
a  delegated  Conference  was  adopted  almost  unanimously.  And 
it  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  undue  importance  sometimes 
given  to  a  mere  abstraction,  to  an  impracticable  principle,  that  no 
Annual  Conference  has  ever  sent  a  delgegate  to  any  General  Con- 
ference since  then  upon  the  ground  of  seniority,  and  yet  this  was 
the  point  upon  which  the  whole  question  mainly  hinged  at  last. 

"Thus,"  says  Dr.  Elliott,  "to  a  very  considerable  extent  we 
owe  to  Bishop  Soule  the  restrictive  regulations,  or  rather  the 
Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  exhibits 
a  degree  of  wisdom  and  prudent  foresight  that  characterizes 
men  of  the  first  mental  powers.  In  fact,  those  who  know  Bishop 
Soule  would  expect  from  him  the  wise  deliberation  necessary  to 
produce  such  a  measure  as  the  constitutional  restrictions  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church."1 

Thus  was  thisgreat  measureconsummated  and  theharmony  and 
unity  of  the  Church  secured,  in  so  far  as  written  constitutions 
and  compacts  can  insure  unity  in  civil  or  ecclesiastical  bodies. 

The  very  infirm  state  of  Bishop  Asbury's  health,  together 
with  the  absence  of  Dr.  Coke  and  the  death  of  Bishop  Whatcoat, 
created  a  strong  desire  to  "strengthen  the  episcopacy,"  by  the 
election  of  one  or  more  superintendents.  And  after  a  motion 
had  been  made  to  elect  the  presiding  elders  by  the  Conferences, 
instead  of  their  being  appointed  by  the  bishop,  and  another  to 
elect  seven  bishops,  one  to  each  Conference,  and  still  another  to 
elect  two,  and  they  had  all  failed  by  a  strong  vote,  it  was  finally 
moved,  and  carried  almost  unanimously,  to  elect  and  conse- 
crate one.  On  the  same  day — i.  e.,  May  12,  1808 — the  Confer- 
ence proceeded  to  vote  by  ballot,  and  it  was  found  that  out 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members  present,  William 
McKendree  had  received  ninety-five  votes  and  was  therefore 
declared  elected;  and  on  May  182  he  was  consecrated  in  Light 
Street  Church  by  Bishop  Asbury,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Freeborn  Garrettson,  Philip  Bruce,  Jesse  Lee,  and  Thomas 
Ware. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  Certificate  of  Ordination: 

l"Life  of  Bishop  Roberts,"  p.  159. 

2Dr.  Bangs,  Dr.  Lee,  Dr.  Clark,  Benjamin  St.  James  Fry,  etc.,  all  mis- 
take the  day  of  his  ordination. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  119 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  I,  Francis  Asbury,  originally  of 
Great  Britian,  in  great  Barr  Staffordshire,  the  Parish  of  Handsworth,  for 
some  years  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Society,  and  a  local  preacher;  after- 
wards a  member  of  the  British  Conference.  In  the  year  1771  I  came  a 
missionary  to  the  British  Provinces  in  America:  afterwards  General 
Assistant,  and  I  had  the  oversight  of  the  Methodist  Societies.  On  the 
27th  day  of  December,  1784,  at  a  General  Conference  in  Baltimore,  after 
being  ordained  Deacon  and  Elder,  I  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Superintend- 
ent or  Bishop,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  General  Conference  held  in 
Baltimore,  December  24,  1784.  The  following  persons  assisted  in  my 
ordination,  viz.,  Thomas  Coke,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  of  Jesus  College  in  the 
University  of  Oxford,  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  Superintendent 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  by  the  ordination  and 
appointment  of  Mr.  John  Wesley,  and  other  clergymen  of  the  Church  of 
England;  also  assisted  in  the  ordination,  William  Otterbein,  Minister  of 
the  German  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Richard  Whatcoat  with  Thomas 
Vasey,  regularly  ordained  Elders  by  John  Wesley:  these  four  solemnly  set 
me  apart  for  a  Superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  AND  now.  be  it  known  to  all  whom  it  may 
concern,  that  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE  was  ordained  Deacon  in  the  year 
1790,  and  I  did  set  him  apart  to  the  office  of  an  Elder  by  my  hands,  In 
December  of  the  year  1791.  I  have,  this  eighteenth  day  of  May,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  set  apart  William  McKendree,1  by  the 
laying  on  of  hands  and  prayer,  assisted  by  Freeborn  Garrettson,  Philip 
Bruce,  Jesse  Lee,  and  Thomas  Ware,  all  of  them  Elders  in  the  Church;  to 
the  office  and  work  of  a  Superintendent  or  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  (after  he  had  been  elected  by  a  majority — i.  e.,  95  out  of  128 
members  of  General  Conference,)  as  a  man  whom  we  judge  well  qualified 
for  the  office  of  a  Superintendent,  and  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  fit  to  preside  over  and  Feed  the  Flock  of  Christ, 
so  long  as  his  spirit,  practice  and  doctrine  is  such  as  becometh  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  and  he  shall  submit  to  the  Discipline  and  order  of  the  said 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America. 

And  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal,  this  eighteenth  day  of  May,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight. 

FRANCIS  ASBURY.    [seal.] 
JESSE  LEE, 

FREEBORN  GARRETTSON, 
THOMAS  WARE, 
PHILIP  BRUCE. 

Done  in  Light  Street  Church,  Baltimore,  State  of  Maryland. 

The  historian  of  the  Church,  the  venerable  Dr.  Bangs,  to 
whom  the  whole  Methodist  family  in  America  is  indebted  for 
his  able  and  impartial  labors  in  this  department,  as  well  as  for 

lBorn  in  King  William  County,  State  of  Virginia,  July,  6,  1757. 


120  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

his  valuable  services  in  promoting  the  general  interests  of  the 
Church  in  other  respects,  thus  speaks  of  this  election: 

Mr.  McKendree  had  been  commended  to  the  attention  and  approbation 
of  the  Conference  by  a  long,  laborious,  and  faithful  service  in  the  itinerant 
field  of  labor,  during  which  time  God  had  set  his  seal  to  his  ministry  in  a 
most  remarkable  manner.  ...  It  was  from  this  field  of  labor  (the  West) 
that  Mr.  McKendree  came  to  the  General  Conference  in  1808.  And  such 
was  the  confidence  inspired  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity,  in  his  zeal  and 
prudence  in  promoting  the  cause  of  God,  and  such  a  halo  of  glory  seemed 
to  surround  his  character,  that  the  finger  of  Providence  appeared  to  point 
to  him  as  the  most  suitable  person  to  fill  the  office  of  a  superintendent."1 

When  Mr.  McKendree  entered  the  Conference  he  had  been  so 
long  and  so  far  from  the  central  part  of  the  Church  that  his  old 
friends  were  not  prepared  to  appreciate  the  improvement  he  had 
made,  while  to  the  younger  members  of  the  body  he  was  almost 
unknown  even  by  name;  so  that  none  but  his  recent  colleagues 
and  Bishop  Asbury  were  aware  of  his  powers  as  an  orator  and  a 
divine,  powers  which  had  been  matured  by  self-denial,  close 
study,  and  the  constant  practice  of  earnest,  prayerful,  evangeli- 
cal sermonizing  amidst  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  a  hardy 
pioneer  life.  But  having  been  appointed  to  preach  at  the  Light 
Street  Church  on  the  Sabbath  before  the  Conference  began,  he 
tremblingly  complied.  Dr.  Bangs  thus  describes  the  speaker's 
manner,  the  occasion,  and  the  result: 

The  house  was  crowded  with  strangers  in  every  part,  above  and  below, 
eager  to  hear  the  stranger;  and  among  others,  most  of  the  members  of  the 
General  Conference  were  present,  besides  a  number  of  colored  people  who 
occupied  a  second  gallery  in  the  front  end  of  the  church.  Mr.  McKendree 
entered  the  pulpit  at  the  hour  for  commencing  the  services,  clothed  in  very 
coarse  and  homely  garments,  which  he  had  worn  in  the  woods  of  the  West, 
and,  after  singing,  he  kneeled  in  prayer.  As  was  often  the  case  with  him, 
when  he  commenced  his  prayer  he  seemed  to  falter  in  his  speech,  clipping 
some  of  his  words  at  the  end,  and  occasionally  hanging  upon  a  syllable,  as 
if  it  were  difficult  for  him  to  pronounce  the  word.  I  looked  at  him  not 
without  some  feeling  of  distrust,  thinking  to  myself:  "I  wonder  what  awk- 
ward backwoodsman  they  have  put  in  the  pulpit  this  morning  to  disgrace 
us  with  his  mawkish  and  uncouth  phraseology?  "  The  feeling  of  distrust 
did  not  forsake  me  until  some  minutes  after  he  had  announced  his  text, 
which  contained  the  following  words:  "  For  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my 
people  am  I  hurt;  I  am  black;  astonishment  hath  taken  hold  on  me.  Is 
there  no  balm  in  Gilead?  is  there  no  physician  there?  why  then  is  not  the 
health  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  recovered?  "  (Jer.  viii.  21,  22.)  His 
introduction  appeared  tame,  his  sentences  broken  and  disjointed,  and  his 

'Bangs's  "History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  II,  pp.  236-238. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop' McKendree  121 

elocution  very  defective.  He  at  length  introduced  his  main  subject,  which 
was  to  show  the  spiritual  disease  of  the  Jewish  Church  and  of  the  human 
family  generally;  and  then  he  entered  upon  his  second  proposition,  which 
was  to  analyze  the  feelings  which  such  a  state  of  things  awakened  in  the 
souls  of  God's  faithful  ambassadors;  but  when  he  came  to  speak  of  the 
blessed  effects  upon  the  heart  of  the  balm  which  God  had  prepared  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations,  he  seemed  to  enter  fully  into  the  element  in  which 
his  soul  delighted  to  move  and  have  its  being,  and  he  soon  carried  the 
whole  congregation  away  with  him  into  the  regions  of  experimental  reli- 
gion. 

Remarking  upon  the  objections  which  some  would  make  to  the  expres- 
sion of  the  feelings  realized  by  a  person  fully  restored  to  health  by  an  ap- 
plication of  the  "sovereign  balm  for  every  wound,"  he  referred  to  the 
shouts  of  applause  so  often  heard  upon  our  national  jubilee,  in  commem- 
oration of  our  emancipation  from  political  thraldom,  and  then  said:  "How 
much  more  cause  has  an  immortal  soul  to  rejoice  and  give  glory  to  God 
for  its  spiritual  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  sin!"  This  was  spoken 
with  a  soul  overflowing  with  the  most  hallowed  and  exalted  feelings  and 
with  an  emphasis  that  was  like  the  sudden  bursting  of  a  cloud  surcharged 
with  water.  The  congregation  was  instantly  overwhelmed  with  a  shower 
of  divine  grace  from  the  upper  world.  At  first,  sudden  shrieks,  as  of  per- 
sons in  distress,  were  heard  in  different  parts  of  the  house,  then  shouts  of 
praise,  and  in  every  direction  sobs  and  groans.  The  eyes  of  the  people 
overflowed  with  tears,  while  many  were  prostrated  upon  the  floor  or  lay 
helpless  on  the  seats.  A  very  large,  athletic-looking  preacher,  sitting  by 
my  side,  suddenly  fell  upon  his  seat,  as  if  pierced  by  a  bullet,  and  I  felt  my 
heart  melting  under  emotions  which  I  could  not  resist. 

After  this  sudden  shower,  the  clouds  were  dispersed,  and  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  shone  out  most  serenely  and  delightfully,  producing  upon 
all  a  present  consciousness  of  the  divine  approbation;  and  when  the  preach- 
er descended  from  the  pulpit,  all  were  filled  with  admiration  of  his  talents, 
and  were  ready  to  "magnify  the  grace  of  God  in  him,"  as  a  chosen  messen- 
ger of  good  tidings  to  the  lost,  saying  in  their  hearts:  "This  is  the  man 
whom  God  delights  to  honor." 

Bishop  Asbury,  who  was  present,  was  heard  to  say  that  the 
sermon  would  make  him  a  bishop,  and  his  prophecy  was  verified 
on  May  12,  for  upon  that  day  he  was  elected,  it  being  the  same 
day  upon  which  the  resolution  passed  to  elect  one.  The  majority 
by  which  he  was  elected  was  the  largest  any  bishop  has  ever 
received,  except  Bishop  Asbury.  He  was  the  first  native  Ameri- 
can elected  to  that  office  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  was 
fifty-one  years  of  age. 

However  inexpedient  it  may  appear  for  a  Church  to  elect  a 
man  to  an  office  so  important  upon  an  impulse,  apparently  so 
sudden,  yet  in  the  present  case  the  selection  was  wise.  With  the 
exception  of  Mr.  Asbury  no  preacher  in  the  connection  com- 


122  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

bined  so  many  qualifications  for  the  office.  His  piety  was  deep 
and  uniform;  he  was  single-hearted,  magnanimous,  generous, 
and  of  most  refined  and  exquisite  sensibility.  With  the  disci- 
pline and  government  of  the  Church  he  was  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted; probably  more  familiar  with  ecclesiastical  law  than 
any  of  his  contemporaries.  As  a  preacher,  he  was  inferior  to 
none  in  the  clear  comprehension  and  able  advocacy  of  doctrines, 
in  lucid  and  natural  description  of  religious  emotions,  and  in 
close  and  searching  application  of  Christian  ethics  to  their 
practical  developments  in  the  daily  walks  of  life,  while  in  the 
power  and  effectiveness  of  his  ministrations  he  stood  as  a  prince 
among  his  brethren.  Nor  was  there  any  rudeness  in  his  man- 
ners. He  had  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  highly  cultivated  society 
in  the  Old  Dominion,  was  acquainted  with  the  courtesies  of 
social  life,  and,  without  sacrificing  the  simplicity  of  his  charac- 
ter, there  was  something  in  his  manners  which  won  the  esteem 
of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  and  impressed  them  with 
the  conviction  that  while  he  was  a  true  gentleman,  he  was  also 
a  true  and  noble  specimen  of  a  Christian  minister.  His  fine 
personal  appearance — about  six  feet  high,  exquisitely  propor- 
tioned— his  beaming,  prominent,  mild  dark  eyes,  black  hair, 
delicate,  white  skin,  and  noble  Grecian  contour  of  face  and  fore- 
head were  remarkably  prepossessing.  His  voice  was  clear,  soft, 
and  highly  musical;  and  when,  in  his  happiest  moments  in  the 
pulpit,  I  have  looked  into  his  face,  all  radiant  with  intellect  and 
smiling  in  every  feature  with  the  reflected  piety  and  benignity 
of  his  full  and  happy  soul,  and  listened  to  the  accents  of 
that  most  lutelike  and  persuasive  voice,  I  have  thought  that  I 
never  heard  such  a  voice  or  so  felt  the  charm  of  truth  and  the 
attractions  of  piety.  The  whole  man  seemed  to  speak.  And 
then  there  were  associated  with  the  words  he  uttered  his  long, 
self-sacrificing  career,  his  unsuspected  purity  of  life,  his  unmur- 
muring submission  to  hardships  for  the  purpose  of  preaching 
Christ,  and  his  daily  exemplification  of  the  power  and  loveliness 
of  pure  religion.  Indeed,  two  thoughts  seemed  to  have  en- 
grossed the  man's  nature.  Other  preachers  occasionally  seem 
to  speak  and  act  as  if  they  have  other  important  interests  in 
this  world  apart  from  religion,  but  he  seemed  to  have  always  in 
view  only  two  great  thoughts:  Christ  and  the  Church.  To 
glorify  God  in  the  salvation  of  men  and  build  up  the  Church 
were  all  he  cared  much  about.  Everything  else  seemed  to  him 
too  trivial  to  excite  his  heart  or  engage  his  energies.  Truly 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  123 

might  he  have  said:  "The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me 
up." 

Such  was  the  man  called  by  the  voice  of  the  Church  to  the 
episcopal  office.  How  this  unexpected  honor  affected  him,  we 
may  conceive  when  we  learn  from  the  Rev.  L.  Garrett  that  upon 
his  election  at  the  late  Western  Conference  to  preside  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  bishop,  he  wept  like  a  child,  and  would  fain  have  de- 
clined the  distinction.  Bishop  Asbury,  too,  alludes  to  the  dejec- 
tion of  "dear  Brother  McKendree"  on  account  of  his  election 
to  the  episcopal  office.  His  Diary  is  silent  here.  He  was  like 
one  stricken  by  a  bolt  from  the  sky  and  was  too  much  paralyzed 
with  the  unexpected  event  to  sit  down  calmly  and  chronicle  his 
own  election.  Great  questions  of  duty,  high  and  holy  thoughts, 
of  love  to  God,  his  Church,  and  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  men 
excluded  all  other  considerations;  and  until  these  solemn  ques- 
tions were  settled,  and  he  had  fully  given  himself  to  the  duties  of 
his  new  and  holy  office,  his  pen  refused  to  record  his  daily  his- 
tory. And  even  after  he  had  entered  upon  his  work  and  resumed 
his  Diary,  not  one  allusion  did  he  make  to  this  solemn  event 
of  that  Conference  until  some  time  afterwards.1  He  had  wholly 
given  himself  to  God  in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  the  Church 
and,  with  characteristic  modesty,  slips  out  of  the  city  as  soon 
as  possible  and  begins,  or  rather  renews,  his  career  of  travel, 
toil,  and  suffering  never  to  end  until  "the  weary  wheels  of  life 
at  last  stand  still."  If  he  had  sought  the  office,  he  would  have 
been  unworthy  of  it.  But  having  neither  sought  nor  expected 
it,  he  submitted  "to  be  servant  of  all,"  and,  with  as  little  parade 
as  possible,  went  about  his  Master's  work. 

Dr.  Coke,  so  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  election  of  Mr.  McKen- 
dree, wrote  him  the  following  congratulatory  letter.  For  the 
first  time  he  was  not  present  at  the  General  Conference,  nor 
ever  afterwards  visited  the  United  States,  the  election  of  Mr. 
McKendree  superseding  the  necessity  of  his  services  here, 

:The  following  extracts  from  his  Journal,  of  a  later  date,  show  his 
feelings  at  this  period: 

"At  this  General  Conference  my  brethren  saw  proper  to  enlarge  my 
sphere  of  action,  and  this  at  a  time  of  life  when,  in  my  opinion,  if  any- 
thing, it  ought  to  be  diminished.  This  necessarily  increased  my  labors, 
multiplied  my  cares,  and  fixed  me  in  a  position  to  have  more  sorrow.  At 
times  I  felt  resolved  not  to  submit,  but  when  it  came  to  the  point,  I  was 
afraid  to  refuse;  I  dare  not  deny.  And  while  still  deeply  conscious  that 
I  did  not  possess  qualifications  adequate  to  the  important  station,  yet, 
confident  of  support  from  my  brethren  and  relying  on  divine  aid,  I  reluc- 
tantly and  tremblingly  submitted." 


124  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

while  his  time  was  fully  occupied  at  home.  And,  although  there 
is  reason  for  thinking  he  might  have  preferred  to  make  America 
his  home,  yet  he  cordially  greets  the  brother  who  takes  his  place 
and  ingenuously  bears  his  testimony  to  his  fitness  for  the  office: 

TRENBY,  SOUTH  WALES,  October,  5,  1808. 

To  Bishop  McKendree:  I  write  to  you,  my  very  dear  brother  and  friend, 
not  to  congratulate  you  on  your  election  to  the  office  of  a  bishop,  for  I 
believe  you  regard  not  office  or  honor  any  farther  than  you  may  serve  God 
thereby,  but  to  express  my  regard  for  you,  and  the  pleasure  I  feel,  notwith- 
standing what  I  have  written  above  at  your  being  united  to  my  old  and 
venerable  brother,  Asbury,  in  the  great  work  in  which  he  is  engaged.  I 
am  persuaded  God  has  chosen  you  to  help  my  dear  brother,  and  that  you 
will  go  with  him  in  perfect  union  in  blessing  the  American  Continent  under 
divine  grace. 

You  are  mild;  you  are  moderately  and  properly  reserved,  and  do  not 
aim  at  an  overbearing  exercise  of  power.  I  have  not  had  a  large  acquaint- 
ance with  you,  but  your  person  and  your  voice  are  fresh  to  me,  as  if  you 
were  now  with  me  in  the  same  room,  and  I  greatly  mistake  if  I  do  not 
taste  your  spirit.  Go  on,  brother,  walking  with  God  and  united  to  him. 
Your  field  of  action  is  great.  You  have,  perhaps,  ten  thousand  pulpits 
open  to  you.  But  the  grand  point,  which  must  be  engraven  continually 
on  your  forehead  as  it  were,  and  on  your  heart,  is  the  harmony  and  union 
of  the  Methodist  connection  in  America.  God  bless  you!  My  dearest 
wife  joins  me  in  love  to  you.  Pray  for  us. 

I  am,  very  dear  brother  and  friend,  yours  affectionately  and  faithfully, 

T.  COKE. 

P.  S. — Please  write  to  me. 

Bishop  Asbury,  in  his  Journal,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  280,  alludes  to  the 
"electing  of  dear  Brother  McKendree  assistant  bishop,"  and 
says:  "The  burden  is  now  borne  by  two  pair  of  shoulders  in- 
stead of  one;  the  care  is  cast  upon  two  hearts  and  heads." 
Most  willingly  did  he  divide  the  honors  of  the  episcopacy  with 
his  colleague — the  labor  and  care  were  worrying  him  to  death. 


CHAPTER  IX 

1808  an  era  in  Methodism — Bishop  McKendree's  first  tour  and  first  Con- 
ference at  Liberty  Hill — Action  on  slavery — The  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference— First  Mission  to  slaves — Two  Virginia  Conferences — Phil- 
adephia  and  New  York  Conferences — Steamboat  excitement — New 
England  Conference — Camp  meetings  at  Pike  Run,  Zanesville,  and 
Collins's  Camp  Grounds — Western  Conference  at  Cincinnati,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1809 — Extracts  from  his  Journal — Methodists  taxed  for 
benefit  of  Congregationalists  in  Connecticut — His  presidency — Dr. 
Coke — His  overture  to  Bishop  White  in  1791  explained  and  vindicated 
— His  proposal  to  divide  the  work  with  Bishop  Asbury — His  death  and 
character. 

THE  General  Conference  of  1808  gave  very  great  satisfaction 
to  the  members  and  friends  of  the  Church.  It  completed  the 
work  begun  in  1784,  by  placing  the  Articles  of  Religion,  the 
General  Rules,  and  the  Itinerant  Episcopal  Form  of  Administra- 
tion, as  well  as  the  rights  of  preachers  and  members,  beyond 
the  control  of  the  Annual  and  General  Conferences,  except 
under  certain  "limitations  and  restrictions/'  and  reserving  the 
Articles  of  Religion  from  their  control  forever.  This  act,  giving 
constitutional  permanency  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
Methodism,  was  crowned  by  the  substitution  of  a  delegated 
representative  body  in  the  place  of  mass  meetings  of  the  elders. 
And  then  the  election  and  consecration  of  a  man  so  universally 
respected  and  beloved  as  McKendree  to  be  associated  with 
Bishop  Asbury  gave  great  confidence  in  the  stability  and  har- 
mony of  the  Church  in  future.  It  was  an  era  in  American 
Methodism.  The  Church  had  now  placed  herself  in  a  position 
of  internal  peace  as  to  any  immediate  cause  of  dissension  and  of 
external  union  and  strength  which  quieted  the  fears  of  many 
an  anxious  heart  and  called  forth  a  general  expression  of  grati- 
tude to  God  from  all  her  borders.  The  members  of  the  Con- 
ference, having  dispatched  their  business  with  remarkable 
unanimity  and  affection,  returned  to  their  respective  fields  with 
fresh  zeal  and  courage,  having  nobly  done  their  duty  to  God  and 
the  Church;  and  the  whole  connection  seemed  to  enter  upon 
the  work  with  renewed  vigor. 

Immediately  upon  the'close  of^the  General  Conference,  Bish- 
op Asbury, 'with  Henry\Boehm  ttas  his  traveling  companion, 
started  through  Maryland^Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Ken- 
tuckyjto  the  first  Conference  for^the  year,  to  be  held  near 


126  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Nashville,  Term.;  while  Bishop  McKendree  went  through 
Western  Virginia  and  East  Tennessee,  West  Tennessee,  crossed 
Ohio  River,  passed  through  a  portion  of  Illinois,  and,  crossing 
the  Mississippi  River  above  its  junction  with  the  Missouri, 
entered  the  State  of  Missouri  and  joined  his  old  friend,  Jesse 
Walker,  in  holding  a  camp  meeting,  beginning  on  July  28, 1808, 
and,  pushing  still  farther  west,  crossing  the  Missouri  River  one 
hundred  miles  above  its  mouth,  they  held  another  camp  meet- 
ing at  Big  Spring  on  August  12. 

His  account  of  a  part  of  this  journey  is  as  follows: 

' '  Saturday,  July  28,  Sunday,  July  24,  Monday,  July  25, 1 808.— 
Camp  meeting  in  Illinois  Circuit,  Indiana  Territory.  On  Tuesday 
morning  last  we  left  Kentucky,  with  four  days'  provisions  for  man 
and  beast,  crossed  the  Ohio  River,  and  entered  the  wilderness. 
We  were  six  in  company — J.  Ward,  T.  Lasley,  Z.  Maddox,  M. 
Shelby,  and  J.  White.  Lying  out  was  no  hardship,  but  the  water 
was  extremely  bad  and  the  flies  intolerable.  Some  had  attempted 
to  go  through  the  prairies,  but  had  turned  back  and  advised  us 
not  to  try  it,  but  we  resolved  to  go,  trusting  the  Lord.  On  the 
third  day  the  flies  afflicted  us  sorely,  when  a  kind  Providence 
sent  a  strong  breeze  and  blew  them  all  away.  After  twelve 
hours  a  shower  of  rain  succeeded  and  blessed  man  and  beast 
with  water  to  drink. 

"On  Friday,  a  little  after  dark,  we  got  to  Brother  Scott's 
in  the  settlement.  The  old  people  were  gone  to  the  camp 
meeting,  about  fifteen  miles  off,  but  the  children  received  and 
treated  us  kindly.  On  Saturday  morning,  one  of  the  most  affect- 
ing scenes  I  ever  witnessesd  occurred.  As  we  drew  near  to  the 
encampment,  about  thirty  of  the  neighbors  fell  in  with  us.  We 
rode  two  deep,  and  a  number  of  excellent  singers  went  in  front. 
We  were  all  glad,  and  as  we  moved,  they  sang  delightfully,  'with 
the  Spirit,  and  with  the  understanding.'  And  as  we  approached, 
the  congregation  met  us  with  open  arms  and  welcomed  us  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  The  Lord  was  in  our  midst,  and  it  was  like 
sitting  in  a  heavenly  place."  Many  were  converted  at  this 
meeting. 

"Saturday,  July  SO,  including  Monday,  August  1. — Camp 
meeting  in  Missouri  Circuit.  This  is  a  frontier  settlement,  lying 
in  the  fork  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers,  where,  until 
lately,  the  Methodists  were  unknown,  it  being  under  the  Span- 
ish and  papal  governments  until  transferred  to  us  by  the  French. 
Last  year  we  formed  a  circuit  here,  and  the  prospect  of  a  gra- 
cious reformation  was  truly  pleasing,  until  a  preacher  of  the 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  127 

Baptist  order  and  another  of  those  calling  themselves  Christians 
came  among  the  people  and  stirred  up  such  strife  that  the  ref- 
ormation seemed  to  be  at  a  stand.  But  the  Lord  manifested 
himself  at  this  meeting  to  their  overthrow  and  the  reviving  of 
the  work  of  grace." 

"  Sunday,  August  7. — From  the  above  camp  meeting  we  crossed 
the  Missouri  and  held  a  meeting  near  a  French  village;  had 
a  refreshing  time;  several  were  converted,  and  the  meeting 
lasted  till  night.  This  place  became  the  beginning  of  a  circuit 
on  this  side  of  the  river. 

"I  continued  down  the  river  and  crossed  the  Mississippi  at 
St.  Louis,  and  so  upon  the  other  side  to  Goshen.  Here  we  had 
a  solemn  time.  The  people  were  dying  of  flux:  seven  open 
graves  in  the  church  yard;  one  interred  after  we  assembled." 

"Friday  August  12,  14- — Camp  meeting  at  the  Big  Spring. 
The  foundation  of  a  good  and  great  revival  was  laid  at  a  camp 
meeting  when  we  visited  here  last  year.  The  people  received  us 
as  angels  of  God,  and  the  Lord  blessed  us  with  many  conversions. 
On  Monday,  as  the  sun  rose,  I  preached,  and  then  started  for 
Kentucky.  An  Indian,  who  got  converted  when  I  was  here 
last  year  and  has  taken  up  with  the  white  people  and  gone  to 
school,  stood  at  a  distance  and  looked  on  until  he  could  refrain 
no  longer;  then  rushed  through  the  crowd,  caught  me  around  the 
neck,  and  cried  aloud,  saying:  'I  see  your  face  no  more.'  We 
rode  forty-five  miles,  lodged  in  the  wilderness,  and  rested  in 
peace." 

His  tent  at  the  camp  meeting  up  the  Missouri  was  made  by 
sewing  the  preachers'  saddle  blankets  together  and  spreading 
them  over  a  pole,  supported  by  forks  placed  in  the  ground  like 
soldiers'  tents.  One  end  of  the  tent  was  closed  with  green 
boughs,  the  other  was  left  open,  and  in  front  of  it  a  fire  was 
made.  His  food  was  bread  and  flesh  broiled  on  sticks  by  the 
fire.  Returning  through  the  territories  from  the  Big  Spring 
Camp  Meeting,  and  lying  out  in  the  forests  two  nights,  he  re- 
crossed  the  Ohio  River,  attended  a  camp  meeting  in  Kentucky 
and  another  at  Fountain  Head,  Tenn.,  on  August  26,  near  the 
house  of  his  old  friend,  James  Gwin.  Worn  down  with  fatigue 
and  exposure,  he  was  taken  sick  and  for  more  than  two  weeks 
was  able  to  do  but  little.  On  September  24  he  joined  Bishop 
Asbury  at  Strother's,  and,  passing  through  Nashville,  came  to 
Liberty  Hill,  where  the  Western  Conference  began,  October  1, 
1808.  "Thus  in  four  months,"  says  Bishop  Soule,  "he  had 
ridden  on  horseback  fifteen  hundred  miles,  a  considerable  part  of 


128  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  journey  without  roads,  bridges,  or  boats,  frequently  swim- 
ming creeks  and  rivers,  sleeping  many  nights  in  the  woods,  with 
heaven  for  his  covering  and  earth  for  his  bed." 

The  first  extensive  frontier  visit  of  a  Methodist  bishop  was 
attended  with  happy  results.  Many  had  conceived  the  bishops 
to  be  men  clothed  with  power  dangerous  to  society.  They  had 
considered  them  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  inaccessible  to  the 
people,  surrounded  with  wealth  and  pomp,  and  ruling  with 
almost  absolute  authority.  Bishop  McKendree's  appearance 
and  manners  were  well  calculated  to  correct  such  views  and  re- 
move the  prejudices  formed  under  such  misrepresentations. 
Thousands  flocked  to  see  and  hear  the  "Methodist  bishop."  But 
how  were  they  disappointed !  Instead  of  costly  and  fashionable 
costume,  his  dress  was  of  the  plainest  mode  and  of  common 
materials.  Instead  of  austerity  of  manners  and  the  signs  of 
ecclesiastical  power,  they  found  him  grave,  but  affable,  familiar, 
and  persuasive;  gentle  to  all  men,  ready  to  participate  with 
ease  and  sweetness  of  temper  in  the  circumstances  of  the  poor 
and  afflicted,  and  ever  intent  upon  diffusing  happiness  in  every 
circle  of  society  in  which  he  moved. 

The  Conference  at  Liberty  Hill  was  held  at  a  camp  meeting, 
the  preachers  lodging  on  the  encampment,  while  the  bishops, 
in  view  of  Bishop  Asbury's  feeble  health,  stayed  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Col.  Green  Hill.  This  gentleman  was  an  old  acquaint- 
ance of  theirs,  and  estimable  local  minister,  a  revolutionary  offi- 
cer, and  a  simple-hearted  and  devoted  Christian.  The  writer 
knew  him  well;  spent  the  first  night  of  his  itinerant  life  at  his 
house  in  1817,  and  can  never  forget  the  godly  counsel  and 
fatherly  treatment  he  received  from  this  venerable  man  during 
the  first  year  of  his  ministry.  He  lived  to  bring  up  a  large  and 
highly  reputable  family;  several  of  his  descendants,  including 
a  son  and  one  or  two  grandsons,  became  useful  preachers,  and 
almost  the  whole  large  circle  of  his  posterity  have  realized  the 
truth  of  God's  Word,  which  promises  the  divine  blessing  to  the 
"children's  children"  of  pious  parents.  It  is  related  of  this 
excellent  man  that  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  North 
Carolina,  his  native  State,  was  overrun  by  the  British,  the 
Provincial  Assembly  committed  its  public  treasure  to  his  hands, 
and  that,  by  dodging  and  hiding  from  his  pursuers,  he  succeeded 
in  preserving  it;  and  after  all  danger  was  over,  restored  every 
cent  of  it  to  the  proper  authority.  And  as  his  early  life  had  been 
distinguished  by  integrity,  patriotism,  and  piety,  so  his  old 
age  was  venerable  and  useful.  There  is  a  moral  beauty  and  sub- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  129 

limity  in  the  gradual  decline  of  a  truly  good  and  noble  old  man, 
who,  passing  away  full  of  years,  ripe  in  wisdom,  and  rich  in 
grace,  descends  serenely  and  triumphantly  into  the  grave 
amidst  the  regrets  and  veneration  of  society.  Such  was  the  life 
and  such  the  death  of  Green  Hill.  The  writer  and  Mr.  Hill's 
old  friend,  the  Rev.  Turner  Saunders,  preached  his  funderal  ser- 
mon on  the  spot  where  the  Western  Conference  of  1808  was  held. 

"As  there  was  but  one  Conference  at  that  time  in  the  West, 
the  traveling  preachers  collected  here  from  Holston,  Natchez, 
Opelousas,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee, 
covering  a  vast  field  of  labor,  an  immense  theater  for  missionary 
enterprise.  To  supply  this  extensive  and  extending  field  of 
itinerant  operations,  some  fifty-five  preachers  had  been  em- 
ployed the  preceding  year.  Many  of  these  had  been  toiling  on 
the  frontier  settlements  and  had  come  hundreds  of  miles  to 
Conference,  fatigued  with  travel,  enfeebled  by  affliction,  ex- 
posure, and  labor;  bare  of  clothing;  in  money  matters  almost 
penniless — really  itinerant,  houseless  wanderers — but  they 
brought  cheering  intelligence  of  opening  prospects,  of  religious 
revivals,  and  growing  spiritual  prosperity."1  Bishop  Asbury 
laconically  says:  "We  have  had  2,500  increase;  there  are  seven 
districts  and  a  call  for  eighty  preachers." 

At  this  Conference  Bishop  McKendree  began  the  exercise  of 
his  office  as  President  of  an  Annual  Conference.  Henceforth 
the  whole  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces  in  Canada 
were  the  theater  of  his  labors.  He  at  once  evinced  remarkable 
ability  in  presiding  over  the  Conferences  and  in  every  other  re- 
spect fully  met  the  expectations  of  his  friends.  A  better  presi- 
dent never  occupied  the  chair  of  an  Annual  or  General  Confer- 
ence. 

While  the  writer  would  gladly  omit  all  allusion  to  the  un- 
fortunate subject  of  slavery  in  this  work,  if  he  could  do  so  as  a 
faithful  biographer,  it  is  perhaps  his  duty  to  advert  to  it  in  this 
connection,  premising  his  remarks  with  this  single  observation: 
he  recognizes  Bishop  McKendree's  character  as  a  legacy  to  the 
whole  Methodist  family  in  America,  and  would  not  willingly  and 
needlessly  exasperate  the  already  too  much  excited  feelings  of 
this  family  by  aught  he  might  say  upon  this  topic.  He  would 
infinitely  prefer  to  be  a  peacemaker  to  being  a  partisan. 

The  first  Methodist  Conference  in  this  country  was  held  in 
Philadelphia,  June,  1773,  but  neither  the  General  Rules,  which, 
in  connection  with  the  Articles  of  Religion,  constituted  the 

iDr.  Green,  in  "Biograpical  Sketches,"  p.  112. 


130  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

basis  of  our  society,  nor  any  act  of  the  first  six  Conferences, 
contained  a  word  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  And  doubtless  the 
clause  which  was  substantially  retained  in  these  Rules  so  long 
was  not  inserted  by  any  Conference,  but  was  an  unauthorized 
interpolation  effected  by  the  famous  council  in  1789. 

As  early,  however,  as  1780,  the  Conference  began  to  disscuss 
the  subject,  asking,  "Ought  not  this  Conference  to  require  those 
traveling  preachers  who  hold  slaves  to  give  promises  to  set 
them  free?"  And,  in  connection  with  a  sweeping  denunciation 
of  slavery,  the  Conference  "passed  their  disapprobation  on  all 
our  friends  who  keep  slaves,  and  advise  their  freedom."  Here 
the  matter  rested  without  any  express  law  upon  the  subject 
until  the  Conference  which  began  at  Ellis's  preaching  house, 
Virginia,  April  30,  1784,  and  ended  at  Baltimore,  May  28 
following,  when  this  action  took  place: 

"Question  12.  What  shall  we  do  with  our  friends  that  will 
buy  and  sell  slaves? 

"Answer.  If  they  buy  with  no  other  intention  than  to  hold 
them  as  slaves,  and  have  been  previously  warned,  they  shall  be 
expelled,  and  permitted  to  sell  on  no  consideration. 

"Ques.  13.  What  shall  we  do  with  our  local  preachers  who 
will  not  emancipate  their  slaves  in  the  States  where  the  laws 
admit  it? 

"Ans.  Try  those  in  Virginia  another  year  and  suspend  the 
preachers  in  Maryland.  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
Jersey." 

Here  for  the  first  time  the  law  and  the  penalty  are  clearly 
laid  down.  Again: 

"  Question  22.  What  shall  be  done  with  our  traveling  preach- 
ers that  now  or  hereafter  shall  be  possessed  of  slaves  and  refuse 
to  manumit  them  where  the  law  permits? 

"Answer.  Employ  them  no  more,  making  it  obligatory  upon 
every  member  of  our  society  to  emancipate  his  slaves,  prescrib- 
ing the  age  at  which  the  slave  shall  be  free,  and  adding,  'No 
person  holding  slaves  shall  in  future  be  admitted  into  society  or 
to  the  Lord's  Supper  till  he  previously  complies  with  these 
rules  concerning  slavery. ' ' 

Two  years  are  given  to  Virginians  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  compliance.  Again: 

"Question  43.  What  shall  be  done  with  those  who  buy  or 
sell  slaves  or  give  them  away? 

"Answer.  They  are  to  be  immediately  expelled,  unless  they 
buy  them  on  purpose  to  set  them  free." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  131 

But  at  the  ensuing  Conference  the  execution  of  these  rules 
was  suspended;  indeed,  it  is  understood  that  Bishop  Asbury, 
perceiving  the  harm  likely  to  result  from  them,  advised  the 
preachers  not  to  execute  them  long  before  the  expiration  of  the 
year.  These  rules  were  dropped  and  have  never  reappeared  in 
the  Discipline.  Indeed,  the  whole  subject  was  dropped  until 
1796;  but  in  the  meantime  the  General  Rules  were  interpolated, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  in  1789.  The  Conference  in  1796 
gave  authority  to  the  Annual  Conferences  to  adopt  what  course 
each  might  think  proper  within  its  own  bounds,  "respecting  the 
admission  of  persons  to  official  stations  in  the  Church;"  and, 
in  case  of  future  admission  to  official  station,  security  was  to  be 
required  of  those  who  held  slaves  for  their  emancipation  as  the 
laws  of  the  States  and  the  circumstances  of  the  case  might  ad- 
mit. In  1800,  the  rule  was  introduced  requiring  "any  local 
preacher  who  may  become  an  owner  of  a  slave  to  emancipate 
him  comformably  to  the  laws  of  the  State  under  the  penalty  of 
a  forfeiture  of  his  ministerial  character." 

The  course  pursued  in  1804  on  this  subject  was  less  stringent 
than  that  of  the  two  preceding  General  Conferences,  and  the 
General  Conferences  of  1808  struck  out  of  the  Discipline  all  that 
related  to  slaveholding  among  private  members,  and  substituted 
the  following:  "  The  General  Conference  authorizes  each  Annual 
Conference  to  form  their  own  regulations  relative  to  buying  and 
selling  slaves." 

Under  this  law  the  Conference  which  met  October  1,  1808, 
at  Liberty  Hill,  Tenn.,  took  up  the  subject  and,  as  they  were 
somewhat  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  they  requested  the  bishops  to 
give  them  a  written  opinion  upon  the  subject.  Bishop  Asbury 
presented  and  read  a  paper,  suggesting  caution  and  moderation 
and  discouraging  legislation  upon  the  vexed  question.  When 
he  finished,  there  was  an  evident  indication  of  dissatisfaction, 
indeed,  it  is  said  the  audience  hissed  him.  The  good  and  wise 
old  gentleman  replied,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word:  "0  well! 
I  can  tear  it  up."1  Bishop  McKendree  then  read  his  opinion, 
which  substantially  favored  the  rule  that  was  so  long  in  exist- 
ence in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  Conference 
acted  in  accordance  with  his  suggestions.  Now,  while  fidelity 
to  truth  requires  this  exposition  of  Bishop  McKendree's  views 
upon  this  subject  at  that  period  of  his  life,  it  is  equally  due  to 
him  and  to  truth  to  say  that  we  have  evidence  that  he  lived  to 
greatly  modify  if  not,  as  the  writer  believes  he  did,  change  his 

'The  Rev.  William  Burke  is  our  authority  for  this  incident. 


132  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

opinion  upon  the  propriety  of  ecclesiastical  legislation  upon  the 
question  of  slavery. 

In  his  "Autobiography, "  p.  156,  the  venerable  Joseph  Travis, 
formerly  of  the  South  Carolina,  and  late  of  the  Memphis  Con- 
ference, relates  the  following  incident  in  reference  to  the  views 
of  the  Bishop  in  his  later  years: 

I  well  recollect,  one  day  when  we  were  alone,  he  [Bishop  McKendree] 
smilingly  turned  round  to  me  and  said:  "Brother  Travis,  what  shall  we  do 
with  this  part  of  Holy  Scripture?  '  Let  as  many  servants  as  are  under  the 
yoke,  account  their  own  masters  worthy  of  all  honor;  lest  the  name  of  God 
and  his  doctrine  be  blasphemed.  And  they  that  have  believing  masters,  let 
them  not  despise  them,  because  they  are  brethren:  but  rather  do  them 
service,  because  they  are  faithful  and  beloved,  partakers  of  the  benefit. 
These  things  teach  and  exhort.  If  any  teach  otherwise,  and  consent  not 
to  sound  words,  those  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  the  doctrine  which 
is  after  godliness,  he  is  puffed  up  knowing  nothing,  but  being  sick  of  ques- 
tions and  strifes  of  words,  whereof  cometh  envy,  contentions,  evil  speak- 
ings, evil  surmisings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of  corrupt  minds  and 
destitute  of  the  truth,  supposing  that  gain  is  godliness:  from  such  withdraw 
thyself."1  (1  Tim.  vi.  1-7.)  I  perceived  the  design  of  the  question,  and 
plainly  answered  it.  The  good  Bishop  did  not  demur  nor  oppose  my  views 
of  the  text.  I  verily  believe  that  had  Bishop  McKendree  been  alive  at  the 
division  of  our  Church,  he  unhesitatingly  would,  with  Bishop  Soule,  have 
adhered  to  the  Southern  side.  I  was  intimate  with  Bishop  McKendree, 
knew  his  sentiments  in  full  in  relation  to  Church  government,  as  also  his 
feelings  for  the  Southern  branch  of  the  Church,  and  the  public  may  rest 
satisfied  that  he  was  no  Abolitionist. 

We  give  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  Bishop  Asbury  to  the  Rev. 
T.  L.  Douglass  as  it  relates,  in  part,  to  this  Western  Conference 
and  to  Bishop  McKendree;  it  is  dated  November  2,  1808: 
"Prospects  in  the  West  exceedingly  great.  If  we  are  correct, 
3,437  increase;  eighty-four  preachers  stationed;  seven  districts, 
two  of  them  new.  We  have  a  tract  of  country  superior  to  the 
thirteen  United  States  now  under  the  oversight  of  the  Western 
Conference.  .  .  .  Since  (General)  Conference,  Brother  Bishop 
McKendree  has  traveled,  I  presume,  eighteen  hundred  miles 
through  New  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Indiana  Territory,  to  Missouri 
and  Tennessee,  East  and  West.  Our  Western  Conference  was 
held  in  camp  order  in  the  woods,  seven  days.  Prospects  in 
Missouri  are  great  and  good.  Bishop  McKendree  has  magni- 
fied his  office  and  penetrated  farther  to  the  West  than  I  have 
already.  From  the  Western  Conference  we  have  traveled 
rapidly,  we  were  chiefly  together.  We  hope  to  strike  off  a  thou- 

lMr.  Wesley's  translation. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree]  133 

sand  or  twelve  hundred  miles  before  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference." 

The  Diary  of  Bishop  McKendree  shows  that  in  company 
with  Bishop  Asbury  he  started  from  Liberty  Hill  the  day  after 
the  Conference  rose  and,  passing  by  Dr.  Tooley's,  J.  Winton's, 
in  East  Tennessee,  and  through  Buncombe  County,  N.  C.,  and 
continuing  eastward,  crossing  the  south  fork  of  Catawba,  he 
attended  a  camp  meeting  at  Williamson's  on  November  11; 
thence  turning  into  South  Carolina,  he  preached  at  Devenport's 
meetinghouse,  at  Sardis,  Heath's;  Camden  to  James  Rem- 
bert's,  in  Sumter  District,  where  he  attended  another  camp 
meeting,  and  thence  went  on  to  Charleston,  where  he  remained 
preaching  in  the  different  Churches — i.  e.,  Cumberland  and 
Bethel — from  November  30  to  December  12.  Bishop  Asbury 
says  that  "Bishop  McKendree  was  three  days  and  nights  on  the 
Camden  Camp  Ground;  and  there  was  a  powerful  work  among 
saints  and  sinners." 

From  Charleston  they  went  through  Augusta  to  John  Bush's, 
in  Green  County,  Ga.,  and  opened  the  South  Carolina  Confer- 
ence at  Liberty  Chapel  next  day — i.  e.,  December  26.  This,  too, 
was  a  camp  meeting  Conference,  held  in  midwinter,  closing  on 
January  1,  1809.  Three  missionaries  were  appointed  at  this 
Conference:  "One  (M.  P.  Sturdevant)  to  Tombigbee,  one  to 
Ashley  and  Savannah  and  the  country  between,  and  one  to  labor 
between  Santee  and  Cooper  Rivers.  .  .  .  Here  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  missions  to  the  slaves  in  South  Carolina."  Peo- 
ple were  there  in  tents  who  had  come  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  "Preaching  and  exhortations,  singing  and  prayer  with- 
out intermission  on  the  camp  ground,  two  or  three  thousand 
present,  many  souls  converted."  Increase  of  members  in  the 
bounds  of  the  Conference,  3,088. 

From  the  seat  of  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  the  Bishop 
arid  Brother  Boehm  passed  through  Augusta  and  Camden  to 
Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  crossing  at  Cashaway  Ferry,  where  he 
realized  the  "mercy  of  not  being  thrown  into  the  river,  like 
poor  Billiard  Judge." 

Continuing  their  route  and  preaching  at  every  opportunity, 
they  visited  Wilmington,  Newbern,  and  Washington,  and  reached 
Tarboro,  N.  C.,  on  the  last  day  of  January.  The  Virginia 
Conference  began  there  on  the  next  day.  Bishop  McKendree 
was  now  among  his  old  acquaintances;  preached  admirably  and 
ordained  the  elders.  Bishop  Asbury  says  there  were  but  three 
married  preachers  in  this  large  Conference.  He  notices  the 


134  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

fact  that  "the  blacks  are  kept  from  us  because  their  masters  are 
afraid  of  the  influence  of  our  principles;"  and  very  significantly 
asks:  "Would  not  an  amelioration  in  the  condition  and  treat- 
ment of  slaves  have  produced  more  practical  good  to  the  poor 
Africans  than  any  attempt  at  their  emancipation?"  Ah!  the 
question  of  "practical  good"  was  rarely  thought  of  in  dis- 
cussions upon  this  subject  by  those  who  were  not  familiar  with 
the  difficulties  which  really  environed  it.1 

The  following  characteristic  notice  of  the  manner  in  which 
a  part,  at  least,  of  this  long  and  tiresome  tour  was  made  is  given 
in  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal: 

"We  are  riding  in  a  poor  thirty-dollar-chaise,  in  partnership, 
two  bishops  of  us;  but  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  tallies  well 
with  our  purses.  Well,  but  we  have  great  news,  and  we  have 
great  times,  and  each  Western,  Southern,  and  the  Virginia 
Conference  will  have  one  thousand  souls  truly  converted  to 
God.  Is  this  not  an  equivalent  for  a  light  purse?  And  are  we 
not  well  paid  for  starving  and  toil?  Yes;  glory  to  God!" 

Truly,  eighty  dollars  a  year  must  have  been  a  scanty  supply 
for  the  purse,  when  every  cent  which  clothing  and  traveling 
apparatus  cost,  besides  every  other  outlay  not  really  included 
in  "traveling  expenses,"  had  to  come  out  of  it!  But  what  was 
money  or  comfort  to  such  men  in  pursuit  of  ends  so  high  and 
holy? 

From  Tarboro,  N.  C.,  Bishop  McKendree  proceeded  through 
deep  snow  to  Harrisonburg,  Va.,  calling  at  his  father's,  in 
Greenville  County,  Va.,  spending  a  day  there  and  preaching 
twice  on  that  day;  thence  through  Petersburg  and  Richmond 
to  Fort  Republic.  His  Diary  shows  that  on  March  2,  he  opened 
the  Virginia  Conference  at  Harrisonburg,  and  that  it  closed  on 
the  eighth.  The  General  Minutes  show  that  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference had  been  appointed  to  meet  at  Tarboro,  N.  C.,  on 
February  1 ;  and  we  have  seen  that  a  Conference  was  held  then 
and  there,  which  Bishop  Asbury  calls  the  Virginia  Conference, 
and  both  of  the  bishops  notice  the  fact  that  another  Conference 
was  held  at  Harrisonburg.  Perhaps  it  had  been  previously 
agreed  that  for  the  convenience  of  the  preachers  traveling  re- 
motely from  Tarboro  another  session  of  the  Virginia  Confer- 
ence should  be  held  at  Harrisonburg.  The  appointments  made 
at  both  places  are  published  as  belonging  to  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference. This  is  believed  to  have  been  the  only  instance  of 

•    t  *  —  " 

iThis  was  written  three  years  before  the  late  war. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  135 

the  kind  which  occurred  after  the  election  of  Bishop  McKen- 
dree. 

The  bishops  went  from  this  place  to  Alexandria,  "through 
deep  snow,  which  fell  on  March  13."  Bishop  McKendree 
preached  on  Proverbs  i.  23.  On  March  18,  to  Georgetown;  and 
Sabbath,  March  19,  he  preached  in  Washington  City  twice, 
his  texts  being  Hebrews  x.  35,  36;  Ezekiel  xviii.  3.  He  preached 
in  Baltimore  on  March  21,  and  next  day  at  "The  Point."  His 
texts  were  Matthew  vii.  3;  2  Corinthians  xv.  58.  Thence,  trav- 
eling and  preaching  nearly  every  day,  they  went  through  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  Conference  began  on 
April  3  and  closed  on  April  10,  Bishop  McKendree  preaching 
six  times  during  the  session. 

.  From  the  Philadelphia  Conference  they  proceeded  north, 
passing  through  Burlington,  Trenton,  etc.,  to  New  York, 
which  they  reached  on  May  9,  and  opened  the  Conference  on 
the  tenth.  On  May  12,  Bishop  McKendree  preached  in  John 
Street  Church,  on  2  Corinthians  v.  20;  on  the  fourteenth,  at 
Bowery,  on  Romans  i.  16;  in  Brooklyn  in  the  afternoon,  on 
Romans  viii.  34;  and  again  at  John  Street  on  May  19,  being  the 
last  day  of  the  Conference,  his  text  being  2  Corinthians  vii.  10. 

From  New  York,  where  their  "attention  was  strongly  ex- 
cited by  the  steamboat,  a  great  invention,"  they  traveled  every 
day,  Sundays  always  excepted,  from  May  19,  to  June  14,  when 
they  reached  Monmouth,  District  of  Maine,  the  seat  of  the 
New  England  Conference. 

This  trip,  which  occupied  twenty-one  days'  traveling,  can 
now  be  made  in  as  many  hours  and  without  any  serious  fatigue. 
In  making  it,  they  passed  through  Newcastle  on  May  22;  on 
the  thirtieth,  Middletown,  Conn.  On  Sunday,  June  3,  Bishop 
McKendree  preached  his  first  sermon  in  Boston,  Psalms  xxxiv. 
19;  the  next  day,  in  Lynn;  on  the  eighth  in  Portsmouth,  2 
Timothy  iii.  5. 

The  New  England  Conference  lasted  five  days.  "Eighty- 
two  preachers  received  appointments,  forty  of  whom  composed 
the  Conference."  From  Monmouth  Bishop  McKendree  came 
through  Canaan,  Dartmouth,  Lansingburg,  Albany,  and 
Schenectady,  to  Kingsbury,  where  he  again  fell  in  company  with 
Bishop  Asbury,  who  had  come  by  another  route,  both  of  them 
having  preached  nearly  every  day  since  they  parted  at  the 
New  England  Conference.  Leaving  Brother  Boehm  to  accom- 
pany Bishop  Asbury,  Bishop  McKendree  passed  on  through 
Auburn,  Geneva,  and  Greensburg,  to  "Dr.  Wheeler's,  on  the 


136  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

fork  of  Youghiogheny,"  where  he  and  Bishop  Asbury  attended 
Pike  Run  Camp  Meeting,  at  which  Bishop  McKendree  preached 
every  day.  The  meeting  was  one  of  great  usefulness.  Thence, 
again  parting  with  Bishop  Asbury,  who  proceeded  to  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  he  visited  Washington  and  Middletown,  attended  a 
quarterly  meeting;  came  to  Steubenville  on  August  24  and  to 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  on  the  twenty-ninth.  On  September  23, 24,  he 
assisted  in  holding  a  camp  meeting  near  Chillicothe,  preaching 
each  day  with  decided  effect.  On  September  13,  he  got  to 
John  Collins's,  of  precious  memory,  and  spent  from  the  fifteenth 
to  the  eighteenth,  inclusive,  at  a  camp  meeting  at  P.  Catch's. 
The  next  week  he  assisted  at  Collins's  Camp  Meeting,  and  on 
September  27  reached  Cincinnati.  Here  the  Western  Con- 
ference began  on  September  30,  thus  completing  his  first  episco: 
pal  tour  of  visitation  to  the  Annual  Conferences. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Journal  of  Bishop  McKen- 
dree, beginning  at  the  close  of  the  New  York  Conference,  May, 
1809,  may  be  interesting  to  many: 

"On  Wednesday,  May  10,  Conference  met  in  New  York. 
We  had  much  harmony,  peace,  and  love  among  the  preachers; 
but  business  was  done  in  the  most  desultory  manner,  owing  to 
an  entire  abandonment  of  manner  and  a  flood  of  words.  There 
were  some  attempts  to  correct  these  errors  in  order  to  facilitate 
business,  but  they  proved  ineffectual.  However,  we  had  a  com- 
fortable degree  of  the  divine  presence,  but  not  many  converted. 
About  seven  o'clock  on  Friday,  May  19  (Bishop  Asbury's 
Journal  erroneously  says  the  15th),  Conference  concluded;  and, 
in  my  opinion,  the  business  might  all  have  been  done  in  six  days. 

"  Here  I  met  with  a  very  unexpected  act  of  kindness.  Brother 
Sandford,  from  Belleville,  finding  I  have  to  travel  alone,  pre- 
sented me  with  his  son  Aaron,  an  amiable  youth  about  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  to  travel  with  me,  and  that  too  at  his  own 
expense. 

"Saturday,  May  20. — We  left  New  York  after  breakfast,  in 
company  with  Joseph  Crawford  and  reached  the  White  Plains 
in  the  afternoon.  Here  I  had  a  full  view  of  the  ground  and  the 
situation  of  the  armies  where  the  battle  was  fought  at  this  place. 

"Sunday,  May  21. — Preached  in  the  meetinghouse  on  the 
battle  ground;  had  a  melting,  comfortable  time. 

"Saturday,  May  27. — My  rides  have  been  long.  Rode 
through  much  rain;  preached  nine  times  to  small,  lonely  con- 
gregations, in  the  course  of  this  week;  have  enjoyed  much  peace 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  137 

of  mind,  but  suffered  some  unnecessary  pain  on  account  of 
foolish  reasonings. 

"Sunday,  May  28. — Preached  twice  in  Middletown,  Conn., 
and  administered  the  sacrament.  The  first  was  a  lifeless  ser- 
mon, and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  as  unprofitable  to  others  as  it 
was  uncomfortable  to  myself.  The  last  was  comfortable  to  me, 
and,  I  suppose,  profitable  to  some. 

"Saturday,  June  3. — In  accordance  with  a  plan  devised  for 
me,  I  have  taken  a  circuitous  route  through  Old  and  East  Hart- 
ford, Ellington,  Wilbraham,  Brookfield,  and  Worcester,  to 
Waltham;  but,  no  appointments  having  been  made  for  me,  I 
have  had  a  week  of  affliction  and  disappointment,  except  in 
Ellington.  There  Dr.  Steel  procured  me  a  good  congregation, 
and  I  hope  good  was  done.  Here  the  Presbyterian  congregations 
tax  the  Methodists  to  build  their  meetinghouses,  seize  and  sell 
their  property  to  pay  the  Presbyterian  minister.  .  .  .  The  trav- 
eling preacher  on  this  circuit  is  not  always  exempt  from  these 
polite  acts  of  Presbyterian  charity.1 

"Sunday,  June  4,  1809. — Yesterday  evening  I  reached  this 
place  (Waltham,  Mass.),  and,  Brother  Bernis  having.sent  out 
and  collected  a  congregation,  I  preached  to  them  at  three 
o'clock. 

"Monday,  June  5. — I  set  out  this  morning  with  the  pleasant 
expectation  of  meeting  Bishop  Asbury  in  Boston,  fourteen 
miles  distant,  from  which  place,  according  to  our  general  plan, 
I  was  to  have  the  pleasure  of  his  company  to  Monmouth,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  We  met,  but  what  was  my  dis- 
appointment when,  before  I  was  seated,  the  old  gentleman,  in 
very  pleasing  mood,  presented  me  with  a  new  plan,  which  di- 
rected us  to  different  routes.  Accordingly,  after  a  few  hours, 
we  parted.  I  followed  directions  and  moved  on  as  I  could,  and 
in  a  day  or  two  he  came  after  me,  on  the  same  road,  the  greater 
part  of  the  way. 

"Saturday,  June  10. — Brother  Heath's,  in  Scarboro.  I  have 
passed  through  nearly  all  the  seaport  towns  in  my  course  and 
preached  in  Boston,  Lynn,  and  Portsmouth  this  week.  There 
is  a  beautiful  prospect  of  religion  in  Portsmouth,  the  seat  of 
government  for  New  Hampshire.  I  heard  more  doctrinal  senti- 
ments and  more  breathing  after  holiness  expressed  in  a  love 
feast  here  than  in  any  other  place  I  have  visited  lately.  This 
society  has  been  raised  and  a  meetinghouse  purchased  by  George 
Pickering  in  the  course  of  this  year. 

lThe  Congregationa  lists  were  popularly  called  Presbyterians. 


138  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

"Of  late  I  have  been  considerably  afflicted.  In  general  I 
enjoy  peace  of  mind,  but  I  do  not  enjoy  that  depth  of  religion 
which  I  believe  it  is  the  Christian's  privilege  to  possess. 

"Sunday,  June  11. — I  preached  in  Scarboro  in  the  morning; 
rode  eight  miles  and  preached  in  Portsmouth  in  the  evening. 
The  Lord  is  present.  Here  the  horse  of  Brother  Sandford  failed, 
and  he  determined  to  return,  consequently  I  have  to  travel 
alone.  Rode  in  company  with  Brother  Joel  Winch  from  Port- 
land to  Monmouth.  He  is  an  agreeable  young  man. 

"The  New  England  Conference  commenced  on  Thursday, 
June  15,  and  closed  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day.  This  is 
an  amiable  body  of  preachers,  having  many  difficulties  to  en- 
counter and  much  love  to  support  them. 

"  Thursday,  June  29. — From  Monmouth  to  Barnard.  Have 
been  blessed  with  the  company  and  attention  of  Brother  Branch, 
the  presiding  elder.  He  is  a  steady,  pious,  friendly  man,  his 
words  few  and  profitable.  Had  a  few  meetings  on  our  trip,  a 
most  comforting  one  this  evening. 

"Saturday,  July  8. — At  Kingsbury.  From  Barnard  I  have 
ridden  from  twenty-five  to  forty  miles  a  day,  and  preached  at 
Rutland,  Willstown,  Ash  Grove,  Lansingburg,  Albany,  Schen- 
ectady,  and  Kingsbury,  but  the  fatigue  has  so  overcome  me  that 
I  have  to  stop  a  day  and  take  physic.  We  have  labored  and 
suffered  much  through  this  country,  but  there  is  now  a  prospect 
of  reaping  the  fruit  of  those  who  went  before  us. 

"Sunday,  June  16,  1809. — Capt.  David  Dorsey's,  Lyons,  be- 
tween Cayuga  and  Seneca  Lakes.  In  consequence  of  confused 
plans,  I  had  no  regular  appointments  this  week.  It  has  been 
a  time  of  affliction  and  trial.  After  losing  more  than  an  hour 
in  crossing  Lake  Cayuga  and  riding  twenty-five  miles,  I  reached 
this  place  at  twelve  o'clock,  just  after  the  people  left  the  meeting- 
house; but  a  very  considerable  congregation  was  collected  at 
five  o'clock,  to  whom  I  preached  with  satisfaction  to  myself, 
and  I  hope  some  were  benefited. 

"Sunday,  June  28. — On  the  evening  of  last  Sabbath  it  began 
to  rain  and  continued  without  intermission  for  forty  hours. 
The  streams  rose  so  high  I  could  not  go  on.  But  few  ventured 
to  cross  the  outlet  to-day;  but  I  preached  to  a  respectable 
congregation  in  Brother  Dorsey's  dwelling  house.  Although 
I  am  altogether  at  a  loss  to  know  how  I  am  to  get  through 
this  difficult  country  now,  and  my  plan  of  appointments  has 
fallen  through,  I  have  enjoyed  peace  of  mind.  Happily  situ- 
ated, in  an  agreeable  family,  I  have  recovered  my  strength 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  139 

considerably  and  feel  resigned  to  the  providence  which  awaits 
me. 

"Saturday,  June  29. — Amaziah  Button's,  on  Lycoming  Creek. 
On  Monday  I  preached  at  Geneva.  Here  Brother  Draper  was 
kind  enough  to  meet  and  conduct  me  through  the  difficulties. 
On  Tuesday  morning  we  started,  and  crossed  the  Canandaigua 
Lake  and  village,  through  Bath;  crossed  the  Conhocton  at  the 
painted  post;  Canestio,  Tioga,  to  the  Blockhouse;  crossed  the 
mountain  and  descended  the  Lycoming  to  this  place.  I  have 
enjoyed  serene  peace  this  week.  To  God  be  all  the  glory! 

''Sunday,  June  30. — Preached  in  the  meetinghouse  at  eleven 
o'clock,  and  in  the  courthouse  at  Port  William  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon. 

"Saturday,  August  5. — Thomas  Waston's.  On  Monday 
morning  I  set  out  in  pursuit  of  my  appointments,  intending  to 
spend  the  next  Sabbath  in  Bedford.  We  ascended  the  west 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  took  up  Eagle  Creek  to  the  iron 
works  and  reached  this  neghborhood  on  Thursday  evening; 
and  learning  it  is  forty  or  fifty  miles  out  of  my  way  to  go  by 
Bedford  to  Pittsburgh,  I  determined  to  spend  the  Sabbath  and 
preach  here.  Through  the  week  have  had  unusual  religious  en- 
joyments; have  been  very  kindly  entertained  by  strangers,  who 
seemed  glad  to  see  me. 

"Sunday,  August  6. — Preached  at  George  Hyskell's  Meeting- 
house to  a  large  and  attentive  congregation;  hope  the  labor  was 
not  in  vain.  Rode  six  miles  through  the  rain  to  Benjamin  John- 
son's. 

"Monday,  August  7. — Ascended  the  Alleghany  through 
Burgeon's  Gap  and  lodged  on  the  mountain,  but  the  entertain- 
ment was  intolerably  bad. 

"Tuesday,  August  8. — Rode  through  rain  for  several  hours; 
road  extremely  bad  on  account  of  deep  mud,  rocks,  and  water; 
lodged  at  James  Wakefield's,  but  was  afflicted  by  a  few  men  who 
had  drunk  a  quart  of  whisky  each  in  the  harvest  field  this  day. 

"On  Friday,  August  11,  I  reached  the  camp  ground  on  Pike 
Run,  in  Washington  County.  Here  I  got  into  my  appointments, 
after  losing  a  whole  week  on  this  side  of  the  mountain  on  ac- 
count of  the  flood.  At  this  encampment  there  were  between 
thirty  and  forty  wagons  and  eighty  or  ninety  camps  and  tents. 

"On  Sunday,  August  13,  there  were  two  or  three  thousand 
people  on  the  ground ;  but  such  a  proportion  of  worthless  crea- 
tures, if  I  may  judge  by  their  behavior,  I  never  saw  at  a  place  of 
worship  before.  On  Friday  and  Saturday  we  had  comfortable 


140  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

seasons,  some  converts;  but  from  twelve  o'clock  on  Sabbath  the 
work  put  on  an  awful  appearance  and  continued  without  inter- 
mission the  greater  part  of  the  night. 

"Monday,  August  14,  was  a  very  rainy  day,  but  a  great 
many  serious  people  attended.  The  work  was  very  consider- 
able through  the  afternoon  and  night. 

"On  Tuesday  morning  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  administered  to  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  communi- 
cants; after  which  it  was  proposed  to  ascertain  the  number  of 
converts  at  this  meeting,  but  such  was  the  excitement  of  the 
people,  it  was  not  attempted." 

Bishop  Asbury  also  was  present  at  this  meeting,  having 
arrived  there  on  Saturday  evening.  He  preached  once — 2 
Corinthians  vi.  20;  Bishop  McKendree,  four  times — Exodus 
xix.  10,  11;  Isaiah  xii.  6;  Deuteronomy  xxx.  19;  and  1  Co- 
rinthians xiii.  13. 

From  this  place  the  bishops  proceeded  westward,  taking  dif- 
ferent routes  for  the  Western  Conference,  Bishop  Asbury  going 
through  Pittsburgh  and  Bishop  McKendree  passing  through 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  Steubenville,  Zanesville,  Chilli- 
cothe  (Ohio),  and  reaching  Cincinnati  on  September  27.  Be- 
fore reaching  there,  however,  he  attended  one  quarterly  meet- 
ing near  Middletown  and  three  more  camp  meetings — the  first 
near  Chillicothe,  the  second  at  P.  Catch's,  and  the  last  at  John 
Collins's.  At  these  meetings  he  preached  nearly  every  day, 
and  even  when  traveling  usually  preached  either  in  the  day  or 
at  night  where  he  might  lodge.  Such  were  the  zeal,  the  industry, 
and  labor  of  our  fathers,  and  thus  was  Methodism  planted  in 
this  country.  That  such  efforts  were  successful  is  not  surprising. 
God  was  with  them.  If  we  would  retain  what  they  gained,  we 
must  love  and  labor  like  them.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  we  have 
John  or  Francis  or  William  for  our  father:  without  their  faith 
and  works  we  are  not  of  them  nor  like  them.  What  would  a 
modern  star  preacher  think  of  traveling  and  laboring  and  suffer- 
ing like  Asbury  and  McKendree,  on  horseback  round  the  conti- 
nent annually?  Yet  they  did  this  for  many  successive  years. 

Bishop  McKendree  introduced  a  new  style  of  things,  in  pre- 
siding over  the  Annual  Conferences;  for  while  Bishop  Asbury 
always  presided  with  dignity  and  impartiality,  yet  he  was  re- 
garded by  the  preachers  as  a  father  and  did  not  on  all  occasions 
adhere  strictly  to  the  Rules  of  Order  in  the  management  of  Con- 
ference business.  His  age,  his  long  services,  and  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  whole  work  and  with  the  workmen  gave 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  141 

him  a  position  no  one  else  could  reasonably  expect  to  occupy 
and  relieved  him  from  the  necessity  of  attending  rigidly  to  par- 
liamentary usage.  But  Bishop  McKendree  felt  that  his  relation 
was  in  some  respects  a  different  one .  Many  of  those  over  whom 
he  was  called  to  preside  were  older  and  more  experienced  than 
himself  and  would  be  far  less  likely  to  submit  to  him,  as  they 
had  done  to  Bishop  Asbury,  than  to  be  controlled  by  rules  made 
by  the  Conference  for  the  transaction  of  its  own  business.  Be- 
sides, he  was  a  man  of  method,  as  was  evinced  in  everything  he 
did  and  said,  and  had  long  since  come  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
close  adherence  to  established  rules  by  deliberative  bodies  is 
not  only  a  protection  to  the  minority  and  the  president,  but 
is  calculated  to  expedite  business.  He  therefore  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  rules  which  obtain  among  such  bodies  and 
insisted  upon  each  Conference  adopting  and  adhering  to  them. 
And  as  he  was  prompt,  impartial,  and  courteous  in  deciding  all 
such  questions  of  law  and  order  as  properly  devolved  upon  him, 
he  soon  became,  in  the  estimation  of  the  whole  connection,  a 
model  president.  This  first  round,  made  in  company  with  his 
venerated  senior  colleague,  exhibited  the  contrast  in  their  man- 
ner of  conducting  business  and  evinced  his  fitness  for  the  office 
of  president.  And  it  is  believed  that  during  the  whole  of  his 
episcopal  career  he  was  rarely,  if  ever,  known  to  make  an  official 
decision  from  which  a  majority  dissented.  The  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess in  this  respect  was  that  he  thoroughly  understood  the  Dis- 
cipline and  usage  of  the  Church  and  was  perfectly  familiar  with 
the  rules  of  debate.  Thus  was  he  enabled  to  detect  the  least 
divergence  from  law  and  order;  and  his  self-command,  combined 
with  a  prompt  yet  mild  and  conciliatory  mode  of  address,  in- 
spired confidence  and  gave  much  weight  to  his  decisions.  We 
have  often  heard  the  opinion  expressed  by  those  competent  to 
judge  that  Bishop  McKendree  was  unsurpassed  in  Church  or 
State  as  a  presiding  officer;  and  the  writer,  who  has  the  mis- 
fortune never  to  have  seen  Bishop  Asbury  in  the  chair,  is  de- 
cidedly of  the  opinion  that  he  has  never  seen  anyone  who  so 
impressed  and  controlled  a  body  of  men  as  Bishop  McKendree 
did  in  his  palmy  days.  There  were  always  quietness,  order,  and 
a  respectful  manner  among  all  the  members  of  Conference 
where  he  presided. 

The  name  of  Dr.  Coke  is  too  intimately  connected  with 
American  Methodism  to  allow  it  to  disappear  suddenly  from 
any  work  which  professes  to  give  a  general  account  of  Method- 
ism'during  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  former  part 


142  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  the  nineteenth  century.  And  as  we  have  on  several  occa- 
sions adverted  to  his  official  relation  to  American  Methodism 
and  shall  present  the  reader  with  several  letters  from  him  to 
Bishop  McKendree,  we  hope  it  may  be  pardoned  if  we  now 
bring  up  the  history  of  this  noble-hearted  minister  from  the 
General  Conference  of  1804  to  the  present  date. 

It  appears  that  Dr.  Coke  never  visited  America  after  1804. 
Indeed,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  in  1791,  his  services  in 
England  were  regarded  as  almost  indispensable,  especially  in 
connection  with  the  foreign  mission  work.  Hence,  in  the  ad- 
dress of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Conference  to  our  General 
Conference  in  1804,  they  earnestly  solicited  the  return  of  the 
Doctor;  and  the  General  Conference  consented  to  the  request, 
with  the  proviso,  "that  he  shall  hold  himself,  subject  to  the  call 
of  three  of  our  Annual  Conferences,  to  return  when  requested; 
but,  at  farthest,  that  he  shall  return,  if  he  lives,  to  the  next 
General  Conference."  The  improved  state  of  Bishop  Asbury's 
health,  together  with  the  assistance  he  now  received  in  the 
general  superintendency  of  the  work  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Whatcoat,  rendered  it  less  important  to  detain  the  Doctor. 
Immediately  upon  his  return  to  England,  from  his  ninth  and 
last  visit  to  America,  he  entered  most  zealously  and  efficiently 
upon  his  work  as  superintendent  of  missions.  His  operations 
embraced  both  home  and  foreign  missions;  and,  by  his  inde- 
fatigable efforts  in  obtaining  funds  from  friends  to  the  cause 
and  from  his  own  private  fortune,  he  succeeded  in  supporting 
them,  contrary  to  the  fears  of  many  of  his  brethren.  If  his 
schemes  seemed  occasionally  too  visionary,  his  astonishing 
success  in  raising  money  to  sustain  them  seemed  to  justify  his 
views  and  silenced  objections.  Having  married  an  estimable 
and  wealthy  lady,  April  1,  1805— Miss  Penelope  Goulding 
Smith — he  addressed  a  circular  to  his  American  brethren  in 
June,  1805,  announcing  his  marriage  and  proposing  to  reside 
permanently  with  them  "on  the  express  condition  that  the 
seven  Conferences  should  be  divided  betwixt  us — i.  e.,  Bishop 
Asbury  and  himself — three  and  four,  and  four  and  three,  each 
of  us  changing  our  division  annually;  and  that  this  plan,  at  all 
events,  should  continue  permanent  and  unalterable  during  both 
our  lives." 

Allusions  have  frequently  been  made  from  certain  quarters 
to  an  overture  made  by  Dr.  Coke  to  Bishop  White  in  1791,  for 
a  union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  with  the  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church;  and  he  has  been  severely  blamed  on  the  one  hand 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  143 

as  having  taken  an  unauthorized  and  rash  step;  and  on  the 
other,  his  proposition  has  been  regarded  as  a  confession  of  the 
defectiveness  of  his  ordination  and  of  the  organization  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  mitigation  of  the  censure  of 
some  and  in  refutation  of  the  inferences  of  others,  it  ought  to  be 
remembered  that  the  period  when  Dr.  Coke  conceived  this 
purpose  was  one  of  peculiar  gloom  in  the  history  of  American 
Methodism.  It  was  the  year  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death;  and,  al- 
though the  Church  in  America  had  been  organized  in  1784,  yet 
the  constitution  of  the  Church  had  not  been  secured  against 
infringement  by  the  provision  for  a  regularly  returning  dele- 
gated General  Conference  acting  under  restrictions  and  limita- 
tions. It  was  also  about  the  time  of  Mr.  O'Kelly's  secession. 
These  things  combined  to  alarm  Dr.  Coke;  and,  without  having 
hinted  the  matter  to  Mr.  Wesley  or  consulted  his  colleague  or 
any  other  Methodist  minister,  he  acted  from  the  impulse  of  the 
hour.  His  object,  doubtless,  was  to  strengthen  the  Church 
by  the  union  and  prevent  a  convulsion,  which  his  fears  had 
magnified  into  a  terrible  approaching  calamity.  But  his  proposi- 
tion, unauthorized  and  indefinite  as  it  was,  and  which,  perhaps, 
he  had  not  himself  elaborated  fully  in  his  own  mind,  looked  to 
a  union  of  the  Churches  and  not  to  a  dissolution  of  either  of 
them.  Nor  is  there  any  evidence  that,  in  any  event,  he  had 
become  willing  to  disavow  his  ordination.  He  did  not  intend 
"a  dereliction  of  ordination,  sacraments,  and  the  Methodist 
Discipline,  but  a  junction  on  proper  terms."  Bishop  White 
respectfully  entertained  the  Doctor's  plan  for  consideration; 
but,  of  course,  it  failed.  The  Doctor  himself,  upon  more  mature 
reflection,  perceived  the  impracticability,  not  to  say  folly,  of 
this  act,  and  requested  the  Bishop  to  burn  his  letter,  which  he 
regarded  as  private  and  confidential.  But  it  seems  that  Bishop 
White  and  his  friends  did  not  regard  the  correspondence  in  this 
light,  and  after  the  whole  affair  had  been  kept  secret  from  1791 
until  1804,  it  was  made  public.  We  do  not  accuse  the  Bishop 
of  violating  a  moral  or  honorable  obligation;  and,  as  it  seems  he 
did  not  feel  precluded  by  a  sense  of  propriety  from  giving  it  to 
the  world,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  others  less  scrupu- 
lous and  liberal  than  himself  would  suffer  so  good  an  opportu- 
nity to  pass  without  using  it  to  give  their  Methodist  neighbor  the 
thrust  ecclesiastic.  But  was  there  any  sin,  or  real  degradation, 
in  proposing  an  honorable  union  between  two  young  Churches 
not  separated  by  any  serious  differences  in  doctrine  or  ritual? 
The  writer  has  reason  to  believe  that  some  excellent  and  tal- 


144  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ented  clergymen,  and  many  of  the  best  members  of  the  Bishop's 
Church,  would  not  have  been  horrified  at  such  a  union  even  a 
few  years  ago,  a  thing  which  he  regards  as  neither  practicable 
nor  desirable  now,  if  it  ever  was. 

The  following  original  letter,  written  by  Dr.  Coke  to  Bishop 
Asbury  upon  this  subject,  has  been  found  among  the  papers  of 
Bishop  McKendree  and  is  now,  for  the  first  time,  given  in  full1 
to  the  press.  The  Doctor  had  but  recently  heard  of  the  use 
which  had  been  made  of  his  correspondence  upon  this  subject, 
and  gives  his  version  of  his  motives  and  acts  in  the  premises: 

NEAR  LEEDS,  February  2, 1808. 

Very  Dear  Brother  and  Friend:  For  some  time  you  got  the  start  of  me  in 
letters;  but  of  late  I  have  got  the  start  of  you.  Perhaps  I  may  not  hear 
from  you  till  after  the  General  Conference. 

I  have  heard  there  has  been  a  paper  war  concerning  a  letter  I  wrote  in 
1791  to  Bishop  White.  But  I  did  everything  with  a  pure  intention.  We 
had  then  no  General  Conference.  You  were  then  the  only  center  of  union; 
and  you  yourself  saw  the  danger  the  infant  connection  was  in,  which  in- 
duced you,  I  doubt  not,  to  lay  the  plan  of  an  Annual  Council  at  Cokesbury. 
I  differed,  it  is  true,  in  sentiment,  from  my  dear  venerable  brother  in  that 
respect;  but,  as  I  before  observed,  you  laid  that  plan  from  a  full  conviction 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  do  something  for  the  security  of  the  union 
of  the  body.  I  was  fully  convinced  of  the  same  necessity  and  did  then 
really  believe  (though  I  do  not  know)  that  a  junction  with  the  Episcopal 
Church,  on  proper  terms,  would,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  answer  the 
end. 

I  never  applied  to  the  convention  for  reconsecration.  I  never  intended 
that  either  you  or  I  should  give  up  our  episcopal  ordination.  I  did  be- 
lieve that  a  junction,  as  above,  would  very  much  enlarge  our  field  of  action, 
and  that  myriads  would,  in  consequence  of  it,  attend  our  ministry,  who 
were  then  much  prejudiced  against  us.  My  proposals  secured  our  Dis- 
cipline in  all  points  and  the  independence  of  our  places  of  worship.  I  had 
no  thoughts  of  deciding  on  anything  (it  would  have  been  the  greatest  folly 
to  have  indulged  such  thoughts)  without  your  full  consent  and  the  consent 
of  the  General  Conference,  which  was  to  be  held  the  next  year,  to  deter- 
mine on  the  case  of  James  O'Kelly's  division.  I  only  wanted  to  put  things 
in  a  train.  The  proposal  met  with  the  approbation  of  the  bishops  of  the 
old  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  but  was  thrown  out  by  the  lower  house 
of  convention,  as  Mr.  Ogden  informed  me.  But  all  this  was  merely  in  the 
way  of  preparation;  for  it  would  have  been  absurd  to  have  brought  the 
business  before  the  General  Conference  (which,  for  what  I  knew  at  that 
time,  might  never  meet  again)  without  knowing  the  minds  of  the  old 

'Dr.  Emory,  it  seems,  had  seen  a  copy  of  this  letter,  and  makes  a  few  quotations  from  it  in 
his  "Defense  of  Our  Fathers." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  145 

Church.1  It  was  at  that  General  Conference,  which  was  held  on  the  case 
of  James  O'Kelly,  that  it  was  resolved  to  have,  in  future,  regular  General 
Conferences.  But  I  now  see  that  the  failure  of  my  plan,  which  was  laid 
down  from  the  purest  motives,  was  for  the  best.  You  yourself,  my  dear 
brother,  never  loved  the  American  Church  more  than  I  have  done,  I  verily 
believe  (excuse  me  for  saying  so),  though  I  grant  you  have  had  more  op- 
portunities of  serving  it.  However,  I  do  conjure  you,  my  brother,  by  the 
glory  of  God  and  by  every  motive  which  can  proceed  from  declarations  of 
affection,  on  your  part  as  well  as  mine,  by  every  Christian  grace,  by  our 
union  in  the  Church,  and  particularly  the  honor  of  Him  who  is  the  great 
mystical,  real,  and  spiritual  Head  of  us  both,  that  you  do  not  suffer  my 
character  to  be  injured  at  the  next  General  Conference. 

I  shall  say  no  more,  but  leave  the  whole  to  God. 

Our  work  in  the  United  Kingdom  goes  on  well,  very  well.  We  have  not 
those  astonishing,  refreshing  times  which  you  have  in  your  camp  meetings; 
but  there  is  a  secret,  gradual,  and  deep  work  on  all  hands,  which,  when  it 
comes  to  be  opened  and  examined  at  the  Conference,  gives  an  increase  of 
ten  thousand,  nine  thousand,  etc.  And  this  is  the  more  extraordinary  as 
there  is  nothing  heard  of  but  war.  One  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
sailors  just  voted  for  by  the  Parliament  for  the  ships  of  war  and  an  im- 
mense military  force.  And  among  all  these  descriptions  of  men,  there  are 
but  few  who  are  born  again.  And  yet  the  work  increases!  Let  God  have 
all  the  glory! 

My  precious  wife  and  I  are  continually  on  the  wing.  We  have  no  home 
but  God,  and  he  is  indeed  our  home,  our  constant  home,  our  comfortable 
home,  our  dwelling  place,  our  tabernacle,  our  heaven  here  below,  our  all  in 
all.  Glory,  forever  glory  be  to  his  name !  She  unites  with  me  in  love  to  you 
and  our  brethren,  the  preachers.  God  bless  you!  Pray  for  us. 

I  am,  my  dear,  esteemed  friend,  yours  affectionately  and  faithfully, 

T.  COKE. 

After  the  able  and  satisfactory  vindication  of  Dr.  Coke  and 
of  American  Methodism  by  Dr.  Bangs,  and  especially  by  the 
late  Bishop  Emory  in  his  "Defense  of  Our  Fathers,"  no  ex- 
planation or  defense  can  be  necessary  upon  this  point.  Those 
wishing  to  see  a  full  exposition  of  this  whole  affair  may  find  it  in 
Bishop  Emory's  work,  referred  to  above. 

Dr.  Bangs,  in  referring  to  the  proviso  in  Dr.  Coke's  letter, 
calls  it  a  proposition  "to  become  a  resident  in  America  on. the 
condition  that  the  continent  should  be  divided  into  two  parts, 
one  of  which  to  be  under  his  superintendency  and  the  other 
under  the  superintendency  of  Bishop  Asbury."  ("History  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  II,  p.  179.)  And  Larabee 

ifiishop  Coke,  as  an  Englishman,  naturally  identifies  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  with  the  Colonial  Church]ofJEngland,  "the  old  Church," 
though  in  reality  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America  was  organ- 
ized before  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
10 


146  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

repeats  the  same  view  in  his  "Asbury  and  His  Coadjutors," 
Volume  I,  p.  326.  The  writer  confesses  that,  guided  by  these 
authorities,  he  had  always  done  Dr.  Coke  the  injustice  of  be- 
lieving that  he  had  proposed  a  permanent  territorial  division 
of  the  work;  whereas  he  only  proposed  a  plan  for  permanent 
alternation  with  Bishop  Asbury  in  superintending  the  Confer- 
ences. An  original  printed  circular,  with  the  autograph  of  Dr. 
Coke,  dated  June  1,  1805,  now  lying  before  him,  first  relieved 
his  mind  of  the  impression  that  the  Doctor  had  proposed  so  in- 
judicious and  unconstitutional  a  condition  as  the  words  of  Dr. 
Bangs  seem  to  express.  The  fact  is,  Dr.  Coke  did  not  think  he 
ought  to  abandon  his  useful  position  in  England  unless  he  could 
occupy  such  &  relation  to  the  work  in  America  as  would  give 
him  an  opportunity  of  at  least  equal  usefulness.  He  therefore 
proposed  to  be  considered  as  Mr.  Asbury's  equal  in  administra- 
tion, as  he  was  in  office;  for  heretofore  he  had  not,  in  a  single  in- 
stance, presided  over  a  Conference  or  stationed  the  preachers, 
except  in  the  presence  and  under  the  supervision  of  Bishop 
Asbury.  Should  he  make  America  his  home,  he  required  to  be 
regarded  as  on  a  parity  with  his  colleague.  The  errors  of  Dr. 
Coke  in  making  this  proposition  were:  First,  he  ignored,  un- 
designedly  doubtless,  the  position  and  claims  of  Bishop  What- 
coat,  who  was  still  living  and  was  greatly  and  justly  loved  and 
who  was  then  actively  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his  office.  The 
Doctor,  doubtless,  regarded  him  as  superannuated.  Second, 
he  called  upon  the  preachers  to  divide  the  work;  whereas,  the 
bishops,  by  an  arrangement  of  their  own,  can  annually  distrib- 
ute the  work  of  visiting  and  supervising  the  Conferences.  No 
doubt  Bishops  Asbury  and  Whatcoat  would  have  gladly 
recognized  him  as  their  equal  in  every  respect  and  would  possi- 
bly have  agreed  to  such  an  alternating  plan  of  superintendence  as 
has  been  practiced  in  America  for  many  years.  But  their  con- 
currence was  not  asked  by  the  Doctor,  and  neither  the  Annual 
nor  General  Conferences,  much  less  the  preachers  in  their  indi- 
vidual capacity,  possessed  the  authority  to  control  the  question. 
Such  an  interference  might  have  had  a  baneful  influence  as  a 
precedent,  leading  to  the  destruction  of  "our  plan  of  itinerant 
general  superintendency."  Third,  this  plan  was  to  last  as  long 
as  he  and  Bishop  Asbury  should  live,  which  would  have  been 
violated  by  the  election  of  another  bishop  during  that  time, 
however  necessary  it  might  be  to  have  another.  Of  course  Dr. 
Coke  did  not  come  back  to  the  United  States,  as  the  Annual 
Conferences  did  not  urge  him  to  do  so  in  view  of  the  condition 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  147 

upon  which  he  proposed  to  come,  notwithstanding  the  death  of 
Bishop  Whatcoat  in  1806,  leaving  Bishop  Asbury  alone,  rendered 
his  services  very  desirable.  The  Doctor  remained  in  England 
and  was  both  useful  and  popular;  and  American  Methodism 
was,  perhaps,  not  greatly  retarded  by  his  declining  to  come. 

A  reply  to  Dr.  Coke's  circular  was  adopted  by  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  March  17,  1806.  The  copy,  which  was  carried  by 
the  bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  is  before  me,  signed  by 
the  committee  who  prepared  and  reported  it — viz.,  George  Rob- 
erts, David  Hill,  Enoch  George,  Nelson  Reed,  and  Alexander 
McCaine;  and  by  Joseph  Toy,  Secretary.  We  do  not  admire  its 
temper  and  think  it  unnecessarily  and  unjustly  severe.  To 
some  of  its  doctrines  we  are  decidedly  opposed,  while  we  ap- 
prove its  main  object  and  its  general  bearing.  It  is  a  rare  docu- 
ment. 

There  is  also  before  us  the  reply  of  the  Philadelphia  Confer- 
ence to  the  Doctor's  circular,  which,  while  it  plainly  and  firmly 
declines  the  terms  upon  which  he  proposed  to  return  to  America, 
yet  does  so  in  the  most  mild  and  respectful  language.  It  is  a 
model  document,  dated  Philadelphia,  April  19, 1806,  and  signed 
W.  P.  Chandler,  Secretary. 

About  1806  Dr.  Coke  finished  his  great  work,  "  Commentary 
on  the  Bible,"  which  he  had  undertaken  in  compliance  with  the 
request  of  the  Wesleyan  Conference  of  1792. 

Dr.  Coke  may  be  justly  styled  the  father  and  founder  of  the 
domestic  and  foreign  missions  of  our  British  brethren;  at  least, 
so  far  as  they  were  not  the  direct  result  of  the  itinerant  system 
under  Mr.  Wesley.  He  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  found- 
ed and  sustained  the  mission  in  the  British  Colony  at  Sierra 
Leone,  Africa.  Having  failed  in  his  first  attempt  to  establish  a 
mission  among  the  heathen  Africans,  his  attention  was  after- 
wards called  to  the  fact  that  some  negroes  who  had  been  carried 
at  the  close  of  our  Revolution  by  the  British  troops  and  Tories 
from  the  United  States  to  Nova  Scotia  had  finally  been  colo- 
nized at  Sierra  Leone,  and  that  some  of  them,  having  been  Meth- 
odists in  America,  had  introduced  religious  worship  among  the 
colonists,  had  formed  a  society,  and  built  a  chapel,  he  imme- 
diately resolved  to  supply  them  with  a  preacher.  Hence  the 
origin  of  British  missions  among  the  Africans.  He  advanced 
three  thousand  dollars  to  furnish  the  outfit  of  this  mission; 
and  for  the  outfit  of  the  East  India  Mission,  he  offered  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  if  so  much  should  be  found  necessary. 

For  many  years,  by  his  personal  influence,  he  sustained  mis- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  148 

sions  in  the  West  Indies,  Nova  Scotia,  the  Norman  Isles,  Ire- 
land, Wales,  Gibraltar,  and  the  destitute  portions  of  England; 
and  it  was  only  a  short  time  before  his  death  that  any  perma- 
nent and  reliable  organization  for  raising  missionary  money 
was  devised  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists.1 

Dr.  Coke  does  not  seem  to  be  chagrined  by  the  course  pur- 
sued toward  him  in  America  in  declining  his  proposition,  for  at 
the  General  Conference  he  substantially  renews  his  former 
proposal,  if  his  services  should  be  deemed  imperatively  neces- 
sary. His  kind,  congratulatory  letter  to  Bishop  McKendree 
upon  his  election,  already  quoted,  is  another  evidence  of  his 
sincerity  and  magnanimity. 

It  is  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  follow,  in  detail,  the  history  of 
this  great  and  good  man;  suffice  it  to  say  that  after  having 
devoted  a  life  of  singular  purity  and  energy  to  the  cause  of  God, 
to  which  he  had  given  an  amount  of  money  out  of  his  own  purse 
which  might  be  regarded,  even  in  England,  as  a  large  fortune, 
he  projected  the  East  India  Mission.  On  December  30,  1813, 
he,  in  company  with  a  noble  band  of  missionaries,  embarked  for 
India,  and  on  May  4, 1814,  he  died  on  board  the  ship.  His  body 
rests  under  the  equator,  in  the  midst  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  but 
we  doubt  not  his  ardent  and  holy  soul  has  found  a  home  in  the 
Father's  house.  He  died  of  apoplexy,  suddenly  and  alone  in 
the  night,  in  his  sixty-seventh  year. 

Dr.  Coke  was  very  low  of  stature,  but  finely  proportioned. 
His  voice  was  feminine,  and  remarkable  for  melody  and  dis- 
tinctness. He  was  a  ripe  scholar,  a  ready  debater,  quick  in  his 
apprehensions,  impulsive  in  his  emotions,  and  a  delightful 
preacher.  He  was  fitted,  both  by  nature  and  habit,  to  an  active 
life.  One  great  passion  reigned  over  his  life,  it  was  a  noble  one: 
it  was  to  do  good  by  spreading  true  religion  over  the  earth. 
Methodism  owes  him  much.  In  England,  Mr.  Wesley  found 
him  a  very  useful  helper;  and  after  that  great  reformer  passed 
away,  the  Doctor  was  of  infinite  service  in  uniting  the  society 
and  guiding  its  missionary  operations.  American  Methodists 
should  never  forget  the  man  who  came  to  help  Asbury  and 
Methodism,  as  did  Lafayette  to  sustain  Washington  and  Con- 
gress in  the  Revolution.  Nor  was  his  love  for  us  a  sudden  or  a 
transient  feeling.  He  crossed  the  Atlantic  nine  times;  and, 
although  he  did  not  remain  long  at  a  time,  yet  his  talents  and 
influence  were  ever  ready  to  be  employed  for  our  welfare. 

'-"Larabee,"  Vol.  I. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  149 

His  peculiarities  were  the  result  of  his  temperament  and  of 
his  English  education.  His  virtues  were  many  and  great.  In 
connection  with  the  constellation  of  the  world's  benefactors,  his 
name  will  glitter  in  the  historic  firmament  like  a  bright  and 
beautiful  star,  forever.  His  body  rests  amid  the  pearls  which 
pave  the  Indian  Ocean;  its  deep,  blue  waves  sing  his  requiem, 
but  his  monument  is  the  missionary  enterprise  of  English  and 
American  Methodism;  and  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  myri- 
ads from  Africa,  Europe,  America,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea, 
will  hail  him  blessed. 

Servant  of  God,  well  done! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  vict'ry  won, 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy! 

The  voice  at  midnight  came; 

He  started  up  to  hear; 
A  mortal  arrow  pierced  his  frame: 

He  fell,  but  felt  no  fear. 

Soldier  of  Christ,  well  done! 

Praise  be  thy  new  employ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run, 

Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy. 


CHAPTER  X 

Bishops  McKendree  and  Asbury  go  from  Cincinnati  to  South  Carolina 
Conference — Thence  to  Virginia  Conference — To  Baltimore — Easton, 
Pa. — New  York — New  England — Genesee  Conference — Camp  meet- 
ing Conferences — Through  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee — Bishops  As- 
bury and  McKendeee  go  on  horseback  to  South  Carolina — Winter  tour 
— Letter  from  Bishop  Morris — Method — Mrs.  Mabry's  letter — Attends 
various  Conferences — Letter  to  Bishop  Asbury  about  stationing  the 
preachers — General  Conference  of  1812 — Presiding  elder  question — 
No  bishop  elected — Earthquake — "War — Letters. 

BISHOPS  McKENDREE  and  Asbury,  accompanied  by  William 
Burke  and  others,  left  Cincinnati,  the  seat  of  the  late  Western 
Conference,  on  October  9,  1809.1  As  usual  in  those  days, 
their  appointments  were  in  advance  of  them,  and  it  became 
necessary  for  them  to  start  at  midnight  in  order  to  get  to  Mount 
Gerizim  in  time  to  meet  their  engagement. 

Passing  on  through  Kentucky  and  preaching  alternately, 
they  visited  Lexington  and  Springfield,  through  Green  and 
Barren  Counties;  Bishop  Asbury,  however,  taking  the  direct 
route  from  Lexington  to  South  Carolina,  through  East  Tennes- 
see, and  Buncombe  County,  N.  C.,  while  Bishop  McKendree 
turned  aside  to  visit  his  relations  near  Nashville,  Tenn.  On 
this  trip  he  called  upon  his  old  friends,  James  Gwin,  Henry 
Tooly,  Elmore  Douglass,  William  Woodward,  and  others. 
From  Nashville  he  started  to  Charleston,  to  attend  the  South 
Carolina  Conference;  and  passing  through  the  upper  part  of 
Alabama,  then  inhabited  by  the  Cherokee  Indians,  we  find  him 
at  Benjamin  Watts's  in  Jackson  County,  Ga.,  on  November  9; 
on  the  thirteenth,  at  Hope  Hull's;  the  sixteenth  at  James  Meri- 
wether's;  on  the  nineteenth  he  preached  at  Athens;  on  the  twent- 
ty-sixth,  at  Greensboro;  at  Milledgeville  on  the  thirtieth;  at 
Dudley  Hargrove's,  his  relative,  on  December  5;  thence  by 
Colonel  Foster's,  Josiah  Randle's,  Weisinger's,  to  Augusta, 
reaching  Charleston,  S.  C.,  the  nineteenth.  The  Southern 
Conference  began  on  Saturday,  December  23,  in  the  city 
of  Charleston,  and  held  a  week.  Here  he  met  Bishop  Asbury, 
and  the  Conference  seems  to  have  been  an  interesting  and  prof- 
itable one.  On  December  30,  the  Conference  being  over, 

lAt  this  Conference  "about  eighty  preachers  were  stationed,  fourteen 
rejected,  nine  located;  increase,  2,366." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  151 

the  bishops  left  Charleston  and  spent  the  night  with  Thomas 
McKendree,  the  Bishop's  brother,  who  "fed  them  richly."  The 
following  Sabbath  they  both  preached  in  Fayetteville,  N.  G.; 
on  Wednesday,  at  Wilmington;  Sabbath,  January  14,  1810,  at 
Newbern;  twenty-first,  at  Norfolk,  Va.  Leaving  Bishop  As- 
bury,  Bishop  McKendree  visited  his  father,  and  joined  him 
again  at  Petersburg,  where  the  Virginia  Conference  opened 
Febuary  8,  1810,  and  closed  on  the  fourteenth. 

From  the  seat  of  the  Virginia  Conference  the  bishops  pro- 
ceeded to  Baltimore  by  different  routes,  Bishop  McKendree 
passing  through  Williamsburg,  Fredericksburg,  Dumfries,  spend- 
ing .a  little  time  preaching  in  Alexandria,  Georgetown,  and 
Washington  City. 

The  Baltimore  Conference  for  1810  was  held  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  It  began  on  March  8,  and  lasted  eight  days. 
Bishop  Asbury  was  worn  down  with  fatigue  and  otherwise  very 
unwell,  and  most  of  the  labor  of  presiding,  etc.,  devolved  upon 
Bishop  McKendree;  He  preached  in  Light  Street  Church  at 
eleven  o'clock,  on  2  Corinthians  vii.  12,  and  on  "The  Point"  at 
three  o'clock,  on  1  John  xvi .  17 .  From  the  Baltimore  Conference 
they  went  to  Easton,  and  opened  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
on  April  20,  and  concluded  it  on  the  twenty-seventh.  There 
was  a  camp  meeting  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Conference,  and 
the  session  was  a  pleasant  one.  The  Diary  of  Bishop  McKen- 
dree shows  that  one  of  them  preached  nearly  every  day  while 
traveling,  and  sometimes  both  of  them. 

Bishop  McKendree's  route  to  the  New  York  Conference  was 
through  Wilmington,  Del.,  Philadelphia,  and  Trenton.  He 
reached  New  York  on  May  10,  and  was  fully  employed  in 
visiting  and  preaching  until  the  twenty-first,  when  the  Con- 
ference began.  It  concluded  during  the  week. 

The  New  England  Conference  for  1810  was  held  at  Win- 
chester, Mass.,  begining  on  June  6,  and  closing  on  the  tenth. 
From  thence  Bishop  McKendree  passed  through. and  preached 
at  Lynn,  Marblehead,  Boston  (Heb.  x.  35),  Wilbraham 
(Prov.  i.  23),  West  Springfield,  Westfield,  and  Schenectady,  to 
Lyons  Town,  where  the  Genesee  Conference  began  on  July 
20.  This  seems  also  to  have  been  a  camp  meeting  Con- 
ference— "great  order  and  dispatch  in  business" — stationed 
sixty-three  preachers,  and  cured  some,  until  then,  incura- 
ble cases."  In  reference  to  the  outcry  raised  by  certain  persons 
against  the  bishops  for  appointing  this  Conference,  charging 
them  with  an  assumption  of  power,  etc.,  Bishop  Asbury  adds, 


152  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

in  his  significant  and  laconic  style:  "If  the  outcry  of  want  of 
order  came  from  God,  the  appointment  of  the  Genesee  Con- 
ference was  one  of  the  most  judicious  acts  of  our  episcopacy." 

The  bishops  parted  company  at  the  Genesee  Conference, 
each  wending  his  way  toward  the  southwest,  to  attend  the  next 
session  of  the  Western  Conference,  in  Shelbyville,  Ky.,  No- 
vember 1.  Both  of  their  Journals  are  before  me.  They  both 
attended  several  camp  meetings  on  their  respective  routes, 
besides  preaching  almost  daily  and  assisting  at  a  goodly  number 
of  quarterly  meetings.  They  were  never  idle  or  uselessly  em- 
ployed. Bishop  McKendree  passed  through  Springfield,  Ohio, 
attended  a  camp  meeting  on  Rush  Creek,  on  August  18;  was 
at  Chillicothe  on  the  twenty-fifth;  crossed  the  Ohio  River  at 
Limestone  on  the  twenty-ninth;  preached  in  Lexington,  Ky., 
on  the  thirty-first  (1  Sam.  iii.  18),  recrossed  the  Ohio  at  Old 
Trace  on  September  12;  was  taken  sick  next  day,  but  was  able 
to  preach  at  Jeffersonville  on  Sabbath,  September  15  (Rev. 
iii.  20) ;  attended  a  camp  meeting  at  Ferguson's  September  21-24; 
visited  Jesse  Head,  B.  McHenry,  M.  Lasley,  Quessenbury,  Pope, 
etc.  October  5-8,  he  attended  the  Nashville  camp  meeting, 
held  at  Liberty  Hill,  and  the  Fountain  Head  Camp  meeting 
October,  19-22,  and  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  relations  and  his 
old  friends  Gwin,  Blackman,  and  others. 

The  Western  Conference  was  held  this  year  in  the  field  of  his 
former  usefulness.  It  began  on  November  1,  and  continued 
eight  days.  It  was  a  session  "of  great  peace  and  good  order." 
The  second  day,  "Friday,  was  a  day  of  humiliation  and  fasting. 
Twenty-six  were  admitted,  ninety-five  stationed;  the  increase  is 
four  thousand."  The  Conference  over,  the  bishops  started  for 
the  far-distant  Southern  Conference.  Even  the  venerable  As- 
bury,  old,  feeble,  and  afflicted  as  he  was,  found  it  necessary  to 
exchange  his  sulky  for  the  saddle  in  order  to  traverse  the  wil- 
derness and  get  safely  over  the  mountains  and  streams  which 
had  to  be  encountered  in  this  long  midwinter  trip. 

On  Sabbath,  November  18,  both  of  the  bishops  were  at  Bishop 
McKendree's  father's;  but  the  next  day  they  were  off  for  South 
Carolina.  Their  route  led  by  John  McGee's,  Dr.  Tooley's,  and 
J.  Winton's,  in  East  Tennessee,  through  Buncombe  County, 
N.  C.,  in  deep  snow,  etc.  Bishop  McKendree  and  John  McGee 
started  at  five  o'clock  and  rode  twenty-five  miles  in  the  piercing 
cold,  over  the  Buncombe  Mountains,  to  an  appointment  at 
Edney's,  and  Bishop  McKendree  preached  (Jer.  iv.  14).  Con- 
tinuing their  toilsome  and  most  unpleasant  journey,  they  ar- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  153 

rived  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  in  time  to  open  the  Conference  on 
Saturday,  December  22.  "Order,  peace,  and  love"  character- 
ized the  session.  About  eighty  preachers  were  stationed. 

But  it  would  be  tiresome  to  the  reader  to  follow  the  daily  toils 
of  this  devoted  man.  Let  the  above  suffice  as  a  specimen. 

With  the  Journal  of  Bishop  Asbury  and  the  Diary  of  McKen- 
dree before  the  writer,  he  is  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the 
sentiment  that  all  great,  practical,  useful  men  are  remarkable 
for  method  and  painstaking.  The  truly  great  man  attends  to 
little  as  well  as  great  things.  See  this  Diary;  how  neatly  kept! 
as  legible  now,  after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century,  as  if  written  an 
hour  since;  every  day  filled  up  with  the  name  of  the  person  with 
whom  he  stayed,  the  distance  traveled,  the  meetinghouse  in 
which  he  preached  (his  text  given  perfectly),  where  the  Con- 
ferences were  held,  how  long,  etc.  And  when  it  is  remembered 
that  he  was  almost  constantly  in  the  saddle,  frequently  starting 
before  day  and  traveling  until  dark,  often  in  dirty  and  uncom- 
fortable taverns,  never  having  more  than  a  day's  rest  in  the 
month,  and  consequently  without  the  quietude  or  facilities  of 
keeping  a  regular  journal,  it  is  astonishing  that  he  was  able,  from 
year  to  year,  to  commit  so  many  facts  to  paper  in  so  regular  and 
consecutive  a  manner. 

The  love  of  order  was  a  striking  trait  of  Bishop  McKendree's 
character;  so  that  while  he  seemed  constantly  intent  upon  great 
and  important  matters,  he  was  never  known  to  neglect  the 
minute  affairs  of  life.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this,  and  one 
strikingly  illustrative  of  his  scrupulous  regard  for  the  rights  of 
others,  is  given  in  the  following  letter  of  Bishop  Morris,  ad- 
dressed to  Bishop  Soule  in  1836: 

Brother  Soule:  The  following  anecdote,  though  unimportant  in  itself, 
may  possibly  serve  to  illustrate  one  peculiar  characteristic  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree— namely,  his  scrupulous  attention  to  the  rules  of  propriety  in 
little  things.  You  may  use  it  or  not,  as  may  seem  proper  to  yourself. 

Many  years  ago— the  precise  time  not  recollected — one  day  in  Confer- 
ence, Bishop  McKendree  asked  me  for  the  loan  of  a  pencil.  I  handed  him 
the  only  article  of  the  kind  I  had.  It  was  a  very  small  cedar  pencil,  perhaps 
two  inches  and  a  half  long  and  less  in  diameter  than  a  common  rye  straw, 
with  a  plain  brass  head.  It  was  used  primarily  as  a  pin,  to  fasten  a  small 
pocket  memorandum  book,  and  to  make  notes  on  the  same.  The  original 
value  of  the  article  could  not  have  been  more  than  three  cents.  Of  so 
little  importance  was  it  to  me  that  I  did  not  miss  it  at  all  or  remember  the 
transaction  again  until  a  year  afterwards,  when  the  Bishop  one  day  in 
Conference  beckoned  to  me,  and  on  my  approaching  him,  handed  me  the 
pencil,  which  he  had  kept  for  me  on  a  tour  of  some  thousands  of  miles, 


154  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

having  perhaps  forgotten  to  return  it  at  the  proper  time.  As  the  business 
of  Conferences  was  in  progress,  he  gave  no  explanation,  but  the  sight  of  the 
pencil  and  a  moment's  reflection  brought  the  whole  transaction  to  my 
mind  and  afforded  a  theme  of  profitable  meditation  upon  the  character  of 
a  man  who,  amid  the  trials  and  perils  of  his  extended  journeys  and  his 
numerous  and  daily  cares  respecting  the  Church  over  which  he  exercised 
his  general  superintendency,  could  still  charge  his  mind  with  so  small  a 
matter. 

He  that  would  succeed  in  carrying  out  the  principles  of  a  great  system 
must  attend  punctually  to  all  its  little  details,  as  did  Bishop  McKendree 
in  regard  to  Methodism. 

Yours  respectfully,  THOMAS  A.  MORRIS. 

MEADVILLB,  PA.  August  17, 1  63. 

The  trait  in  Bishop  McKendree's  character  so  happily  illus- 
trated in  the  above  anecdote  by  Bishop  Morris  was  developed 
in  many  ways.  It  displayed  itself  in  the  systematic  arrange- 
ment of  all  his  business.  He  was  a  man  of  method.  He  could 
not  preach,  debate,  or  converse  satisfactorily  without  regard  to 
it.  His  plan  of  traveling  and  preaching  on  the  way  must  always 
be  prearranged.  His  traveling  equipage,  whether  he  went  on 
horseback  or  in  a  carriage,  was  ever  most  carefully  adjusted. 
His  horse  was  never  neglected,  nor  could  he  retire  to  rest  after 
having  been  exhausted  by  a  long  and  wearisome  day's  journey 
until  he  knew  he  had  received  the  best  possible  attention.  As 
"a  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast,"  so  this  good 
man  regarded  the  comfort  of  his  horse.  This  was  strikingly 
displayed  in  the  provision  made  by  his  will  for  the  support  of 
his  faithful  "Old  Gray." 

His  clothes  were  packed  in  his  saddledags,  or  carriage  trunk, 
by  his  own  hands,  for  who  could  do  it  so  neatly?  His  papers 
were  folded,  labeled,  and  put  up  as  he  only  could  do  it.  In  his 
dress  and  address  you  perceived  in  a  moment  the  neatness, 
simplicity,  and  courteousness  of  a  gentleman  who  respected 
both  himself  and  his  company  too  highly  to  seem  careless  of  his 
appearance.  And  while  he  was  far  from  being  stiff  or  unsocial 
in  his  manners,  there  was  always  about  him  a  dignified  and  re- 
spectful demeanor,  mingled  with  affability,  which  bespoke  his 
character  and  his  position.  His  presence  always  commanded 
respect,  and  his  manners  won  the  confidence  of  strangers;  so 
that  even  those  who  loved  to  ridicule  preachers  felt  constrained 
to  treat  him  civilly;  and  children,  reading  his  feelings  in  his  face, 
would  instinctively  smile,  climb  upon  his  knees,  and  nestle  in 
his  bosom.  There  was  an  indescribable  persuasiveness  in  his 
manner,  whether  in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  social  circle.  When  ani- 


Life  and  'Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  15J> 

mated,  there  was  a  kind  of  illumination  of  his  features,  remind- 
ing one  of  the  gleaming  of  lightning  behind  a  thin  cloud.  Before 
his  tongue  uttered  the  words,  his  eyes  and  mildly  radiant  face 
had  already  half  told  what  was  coming.  His  sense  of  propriety 
was  such  that  he  was  rarely  known  to  say  or  do  anything  of 
questionable  fitness.  His  delicacy  and  sensibility  were  remark- 
able* The  same  mental  peculiarity  which  dictated  order  in 
everything  relating  to  business  matters,  dress,  etc.,  induced 
him  to  be  careful  of  his  words,  so  that  "proper  words  in  proper 
places  "  best  defines  his  sermons  and  conversations.  Hence,  too, 
the  ease  with  which  he  could  adapt  his  style  and  manner  to  the 
capacities  and  circumstances  of  his  hearers. 

The  following  communication,  taken  from  the  Sunday  school 
Visitor  of  1852,  sent  to  me  by  the  late  Rev.  Anthony  Dibrell 
(of  precious  memory),  was  furnished  by  Mrs.Mabry,of  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  and  was  addressed  to  children.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Mr.  Grissell  Davis,  in  whose  house  Mr.  McKendree  was 
ordained  deacon  in  1790,  and  where  he  often  stayed.  It  illus- 
trates several  traits  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

My  Dear  Little  Children:  When  I  was  young,  nothing  delighted  me  more 
than  to  hear  my  mother  tell  about  old  times;  presuming  you  have  the  same 
kind  of  curiosity,  and  as  I  like  children  dearly  and  like  to  please  them,  I 
will  give  you  some  account  of  my  intercourse  with  Bishop  McKendree 
when  I  was  a  little  girl  and  he  a  young  man. 

My  father's  house  was,  for  many  years  and  as  long  as  he  lived  a  home 
for  Methodist  preachers.  At  one  time  Bishop  McKendree  was  stationed 
in  the  town  in  which  we  lived.  I  do  not  remember  how  long  he  stayed  at 
our  house,  but  long  enough  for  him  and  myself  to  become  intimate  friends. 
He  was  remarkably  fond  of  children.  He  liked  very  much  to  have  his  hair 
combed,  and  I  would  stand,  perhaps  an  hour  at  a  time,  on  my  little  chair 
combing  his  beautiful  black  hair,  which  curled  naturally,  and  twining  it 
around  my  tiny  fingers.  It  was  all  cut  short  except  behind,  and  there  it 
was  just  long  enough  to  curl.  He  would  almost  fall  asleep  while  I  was 
amusing  myself  behind  him.  When  I  came  to  arrange  it  in  front,  he  would 
take  me  on  his  knee.  And  when  I  was  done,  a  very  sweet  kiss  would  be  my 
reward  and  many  thanks  also.  I  would  then  take  my  little  chair  and  sit 
close  by  him  and  count  the  buttons  at  his  knees,  there  were  five  at  each  knee; 
and  he  wore  buckles  on  his  shoes,  too.  I  shall  never  forget  his  appearance, 
for,  in  my  opinion,  he  was  perfectly  beautiful.  His  eyes  were  bright  and 
black,  and  the  expression  of  his  countenance  was  mild  amd  benignant. 
He  had  a  hoiy,  happy  look.  I  remember  one  day  I  had  finished  combing 
his  hair  and  was  playing  about  the  room  when  some  one  observed  there  was 
a  cloud  rising.  A  thunder-cloud  was  the  most  terrible  thing  in  the  world 
to  me.  I  always  nestled  as  closely  as  possible  to  my  mother,  because  I 
thought  she  was  so  good  the  lightning  would  not  hurt  her.  She  mentioned 


156  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

to  the  Bishop  how  much  I  was  alarmed  and  how  sorry  she  was  to  see 
a  cloud  on  my  account.  I  recollect  that  he  called  me  to  him,  took  me  on 
his  knees,  laid  my  head  on  his  breast,  and  soothed  me  with  the  kindest 
words.  When  the  sharp  lightning  came,  I  would  hide  my  little  face  in  his 
bosom  and  feel  perfectly  safe,  because  I  thought  nothing  could  harm  me 
while  near  him,  although  I  knew  I  was  sinful,  for  I  cannot  remember  the 
time  I  did  not  know  it  or  had  not  the  fear  of  the  Lord  before  my  eyes. 
After  the  violence  of  the  storm  was  over,  he  related  an  anecdote.  There 
was  a  lady,  he  said,  who  feared  lightning  very  much.  She  had  heard  that  it 
never  struck  little  children;  and  whenever  she  saw  a  cloud  arising,  she 
would  gather  as  many  around  her  as  she  could.  One  day  she  had  one  or 
two  on  her  lap  and  several  others  about  her,  and  felt  safe.  A  cat  and 
kitten  were  lying  in  the  door,  very  near  together,  when  there  came  a 
severe  flash  of  lightning,  which  killed  the  cat  and  left  the  kitten  unhurt.  It 
had  such  an  effect  upon  her  that  she  began  from  that  time  to  seek  religion, 
and  never  rested  until  she  found  it.  I  could  tell  you  a  great  deal  about 
the  impression  his  words  made  upon  my  heart  at  that  time  and  in  after 
years,  when  I  grew  up  to  maturity,  but  I  am  not  writing  my  own  history. 
Perhaps,  if  you  like  what  I  have  now  written,  and  my  health  will  permit,  I 
may  tell  you  about  some  of  the  other  bishops  and  preachers.  I  knew  Bishop 
Asbury,  Bishop  Whatcoat,  Dr.  Coke,  but  never  loved  any  as  well  as  I  did 
Bishop  McKendree.  AN  OLD  LADY. 

It  might  be  unprofitable  to  follow  the  narrative  of  the  Bishop's 
daily  travels  and  labors  through  the  year  1811,  having  given  so 
full  an  account  of  his  first  two  official  tours  around  the  continent; 
let  it  suffice,  then,  to  state  that  his  Diary  shows  that  from  the 
seat  of  the  Southern  Conference,  in  Columbia,  S.  C.,  he  started 
on  December  29,  1810,  for  the  Virginia  Conference,  which 
met  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  on  Febuary  7, 1811;  thence  to  the  Balti- 
more Conference,  held  in  the  city,  March,  20-28;  thence  to 
Philadelphia,  where  the  Conference  was  opened  on  April  20,  to 
the  New  York  Conference,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  May  20-25; 
the  New  England  Conference,  at  Barnard's  Town,  Vermont, 
June  20-27;  the  Genessee  Conference,  in  Paris,  N.Y.,  July  20-25, 
thus  closing  his  third  round  of  Conference  visitations.  In 
looking  over  the  notes  entered  in  his  Journal  on  these  tours,  it 
strikes  the  reader  that  he  was  a  most  laborious  and  punctual 
preacher.  He  seems,  for  months,  to  have  preached  and  traveled 
almost  every  day  when  not  actually  holding  Conference.  Mid- 
winter and  summer  were,  in  this  respect,  alike  to  him.  Thus,  in 
December  he  had  two  rest  days; in  November,  none; in  January, 
two;  Febuary,  none;  March,  two;  April,  none;  May  none;  June, 
none;  July,  none;  August,  two;  in  September,  none,  although  he 
attended  three  camp  meetings  in  Ohio  during  the  month  and 
preached  nearly  every  day. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  157 

Bishop  Asbury,  as  usual,  attended  all  the  Conferences  and 
found  time  to  visit  Canada  and  see  the  state  of  the  work  there 
in  the  interval  of  the  last  two  Conferences.  The  journey,  how- 
ever, was  performed  in  great  bodily  pain,  and  he  arrived  at  the 
Genesee  Conference  with  exhausted  strength  and  a  complica- 
tion of  diseases.  He  had  traveled  sixteen  hundred  miles  in  sixty 
days.  "Sore,  lame,  and  weary,"  he  got  to  Paris.  He  adds: 
"My  spirit  rejoiced  with  dear  Bishop  McKendree;  he  nursed  me 
as  if  I  had  been  his  own  baby."  Slowly  wending  their  way 
westward,  inquiring  into  the  condition  of  the  societies  lying  on 
their  routes  and  preaching  almost  daily,  they  began  their  un- 
ceasing round  of  labor  again  at  the  Western  Conference,  in  Cin- 
cinnati, November  1,  1811. 

It  appears  from  the  following  letter  that  Bishop  Asbury  at 
the  close  of  the  Genesee  Conference,  which  finished  the  third 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  since  1808,  urged  Bishop  McKendree 
to  adopt  his  plan  of  stationing  the  preachers  without  consulting 
the  presiding  elders,  to  which  he  objected,  but  proposed  a  mod- 
ification of  it  as  follows: 

Cincinnati,  October  8,  1811. 

Brother  Asbury;  I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  utility  and  necessity  of 
the  council  of  the  presiding  elders  in  stationing  the  preachers,  but  you  fear 
individuals  will  make  it  difficult,  if  not  impracticable,  for  you  to  proceed 
on  this  plan.  I  am  willing  to  assist  you  in  the  best  way  I  can;  and  as  I  am 
in  duty  bound,  so  I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  render  the  most  effectual 
service  to  the  Church.  Consequently,  I  am  still  willing  to  accede  to  the 
proposition  which  you  made  at  the  Genesee  Conference  if  it  may  be  quali- 
fied. If  it  is  still  your  wish,  I  will  take  the  plan  of  stations,  after  you  have 
matured  it,  call  the  elders  to  my  assistance,  and,  after  deliberate  council, 
report  in  favor  or  dictate  such  alterations  as  may  be  thought  necessary.  But 
I  still  refuse  to  take  the  whole  responsibility  upon  myself,  not  that  I  am 
afraid  of  proper  accountability,  but  because  I  conceive  the  proposition 
included  one  highly  inproper. 

Yours,  in  the  bonds  of  a  yokefellow,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

After  the  Western  Conference,  he  went  to  Camden,  S.  C.; 
thence  to  Richmond,  Va.;  thence  to  Leesburg,  Va.;  and  thence 
to  Philadelphia,  April  18-25,  1812,  holding  a  Conference  at 
each  of  these  places. 

Let  the  reader  think  of  one  of  these  trips,  say  from  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  by  way  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  through 
the  Indian  Nation  and  Georgia,  to  Camden,  S.  C.  Let  him 
think  of  the  distance  traveled  on  this  single  tour;  the  cold  of 
midwinter;  the  mud;  the  swollen  streams,  frequently  without 
bridges  or  ferryboats;  the  fatigue  of  horseback  riding  to  men 


158  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

from  fifty-five  to  sixty-eight  years  old;  the  discomforts  of  road- 
side taverns;  and,  in  addition  to  all  this,  "the  daily  care  of  all 
the  Churches,"  and  he  will  have  some  conception  of  their  sacri- 
fices and  sufferings.  Surely,  they  must  have  been  more  or  less 
than  men  to  endure  all  this  unless  it  were  for  Christ's  sake. 

At  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  Bishop  McKen- 
dree was  taken  sick  and  was  not  able  to  reach  New  York  until 
several  days  had  elapsed  in  the  session  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. 

The  General  Conference,  which  began  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  May  1,  1812,  was  the  first  delegated  convention  of  the 
Church.  Eight  Conferences  were  represented  by  ninety  dele- 
gates. It  was  a  most  important  assembly,  inasmuch  as  it  not 
only  determined  questions  of  great  interest  to  the  welfare  of  the 
Church,  but  especially  as  it  tested  the  fealty  of  her  represent- 
atives in  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  Church  to  the  constitu- 
tion itself.  Methodism  was  about  to  pass  the  ordeal  which  the 
civil  government  had  experienced  in  the  first  Congress  under 
the  Federal  Constitution.  And,  as  in  the  latter  case,  the  prac- 
tical application  of  the  constitution  was  rendered  both  more 
difficult  and  important  on  account  of  the  novelty  of  the  experi- 
ment and  the  danger  of  introducing  precedents  which  might 
lead  to  disastrous  consequences;  so,  in  the  former,  the  utmost 
caution  was  necessary  to  begin  the  administration  of  the  newly 
adopted  organic  laws  of  the  Church  conformably  to  the  true 
intent  and  spirit  of  the  ecclesiastical  constitution.  In  both  the 
highest  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  were  needed.  There  was  this 
obvious  difference,  however,  in  the  charter  under  which  they 
respectively  acted.  The  two  governments  not  only  differ  in 
their  origin,  nature,  design,  and  mode  of  operations,  but  more- 
over, while  the  power  vested  in  Congress  is  limited  by  specific 
grants  of  power  to  be  exercised  for  the  general  welfare  and  the 
means  necessary  to  execute  these  specific  objects,  the  delegated 
General  Conference  possessed,  by  constitutional  right,  all  power 
originally  belonging  to  the  whole  body  they  represented,  except 
certain  clearly  defined  prohibitions.  These  prohibitions  pro- 
tected the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  membership  and  ministry, 
the  General  Rules  of  the  societies,  the  Articles  of  Religion,  and 
the  episcopal  form  of  our  general  superintendency  of  the  Church. 
Beyond  these  three  great  and  vital  questions,  everything  in  the 
polity  of  the  Church  was,  and  is  yet,  under  their  control. 

The  eyes  of  all  who  loved  the  Church  were  turned  with  the 
most  intense  solicitude  to  the  action  of  the  General  Conference 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  159 

of  1812.  The  bishops  were  to  preside  alternately  as  joint  presi- 
dents of  the  body;  and,  fortunately,  they  combined  the  highest 
confidence  of  the  Church,  both  as  to  their  purity  of  motives  and 
their  knowledge  of  its  true  interests.  Bishop  Asbury's  integrity 
of  character  and  sagacity  inspired  great  confidence,  while  all 
the  past  history  of  Bishop  McKendree  marked  him  as  equal  to 
the  emergency.  But  Bishop  Asbury  had  heretofore  exercised 
rather  the  prerogatives  of  a  father  than  the  office  of  a  president, 
and  had  never  been  remarkable  for  conducting  business  accord- 
ing to  the  strict  Rules  of  Order.  Who  was  to  inaugurate  the 
new  state  of  things  demanded  by  the  Church?  Happily  for  the 
Church,  Bishop  McKendree  was  the  man  for  the  occasion. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Smith,  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  pro- 
bably the  oldest  traveling  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  February  6, 1855,  says  upon  this 
point: 

Previous  to  the  first  delegated  General  Conference,  May  1, 1812,  Bishop 
McKendree  drew  up  a  plan  of  business  to  be  brought  before  the  General 
Conference.  His  address  was  read  in  Conference;  but  as  it  was  a  new 
thing,  the  aged  Bishop  (Asbury)  rose  to  his  feet  immediately  after  the  paper 
was  read,  and  addressed  the  junior  bishop  to  the  following  effect:  "I  have 
something  to  say  to  you  before  the  Conference."  The  junior  also  rose  to 
his  feet,  and  they  stood  face  to  face.  Bishop  Asbury  went  on  to  say:  "  This 
is  a  new  thing.  I  never  did  business  in  this  way,  and  why  is  this  new  thing 
introduced?"  The  junior  bishop  promptly  replied:  "You  are  OUT  father, 
we  are  your  sons;  you  never  have  had  need  of  it.  I  am  only  a  brother,  and 
have  need  of  it. "  Bishop  Asbury  said  no  more,  but  sat  down  with  a  smile 
on  his  face.  The  scene  is  now  before  me.  I  believe  the  bishops  have  pur- 
sued the  plan  ever  since. 

The  address  of  Bishop  McKendree  was  not  merely  a  program 
of  the  business  which  legitimately  devolved  upon  the  body,  but 
was  designed  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Conference  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  bishops  and  to  the  condition  and  wants  of 
the  Church. 

Mr.  Asbury  had  been  trained  in  the  Wesleyan  school,  and  his 
presidency  had  been  similar  in  some  respects  to  the  British 
system  of  holding  Conferences.  The  sessions  held  under  him 
had  not  been  conducted  very  strictly  by  parliamentary  rules. 
Mr.  McKendree  knew  that  a  careful  adherence  to  order  is  not 
only  a  protection  to  the  minority  and  the  president,  but  is 
essential  to  the  dispatch  of  business.  The  "new  thing"  which 
surprised  the  elder  bishop  was  right  in  itself  and  most  proper 
as  emanating  from  one  who  thus  modestly  disclaimed  the  pre- 


160  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

negatives  of  a  father  and  voluntarily  placed  himself  under  the 
laws  of  order  in  exercising  his  office.  The  General  Conference 
approved  his  course;  committees  were  appointed  to  draw  up 
Rules  of  Order  and  to  consider  the  various  topics  of  Bishop 
McKendree's  address;  and  from  that  time  until  the  present, 
the  sessions  of  the  Methodist  Conferences,  both  Annual  and 
General,  have  surpassed  all  other  ecclesiastical  bodies  for  their 
strict  adherence  to  the  established  rules  of  debate  and  for  the 
amount  of  business  transacted  in  a  given  time.  Indeed,it  may 
well  be  doubted  whether  there  is  any  deliberative  body  which 
equals  a  Methodist  Conference  in  these  respects.  The  intro- 
duction of  this  mode  of  procedure  may  be  attributed  chiefly  to 
Bishop  McKendree.  Coke,  Asbury,  and  Whatcoat  were  all 
Englishmen,  and  although  wise,  great,  and  good,  could  not 
conform  their  mode  of  administration  to  the  American  idea. 
The  first  native  American  bishop,  himself  a  soldier  and  an  officer 
in  the  war  of  independence,  placed  himself  and  his  office  in 
harmony  with  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  his  countrymen 
by  refusing  to  govern  except  according  to  law.  He  was  right, 
and  the  Church  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  course. 
The  following  address  was  submitted  by  Bishop  McKendree 
in  writing: 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  now  assembled  in  the  city  of 
New  York. 

Dear  Brethren:  My  relation  to  you  and  the  connection  in  general  seems 
in  my  opinion,  to  make  it  necessary  that  I  should  address  you  in  some  way 
by  which  you  may  get  possession  of  some  information  perhaps  not  other- 
wise to  be  obtained  by  many  of  you. 

It  is  now  four  years  since,  by  your  appointment,  it  became  my  duty 
jointly  to  superintend  our  extensive  and  very  important  charge.  With 
anxious  solicitude  and  good  wishes,  I  have  looked  forward  to  this  General 
Conference.  The  appointed  time  has  come,  and  the  Lord  has  graciously 
permitted  us  to  meet  according  to  appointment,  for  which  I  hope  we  are 
prepared  jointly  to  praise  and  adore  his  goodness. 

Upon  examination,  you  will  find  that  the  work  of  the  Lord  is  progress- 
ing in  our  hands.  Our  important  charge  has  greatly  increased  since  the 
last  General  Conference.  We  had  an  increase  of  upward  of  40,000  members. 
At  present  we  have  upward  of  2,000  local  preachers,  about  700  traveling 
preachers,  and  about  190,000  members.  And  these  are  widely  scattered 
over  seventeen  States,  besides  the  several  territorial  settlements  and  the 
Canadas. 

Thus  situated,  it  must  be  expected  in  the  present  state  of  things  that  the 
council  and  direction  of  your  united  wisdom  will  be  necessary  to  preserve 
the  harmony  and  peace  of  the  body,  as  well  as  the  cooperation  of  the  teach- 
ing and  local  ministry  in  carrying  on  the  blessed  work  of  reformation  which 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  161 

the  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  effect  through  our  instrumentality.  To 
deserve  the  confidence  of  the  local  ministry  and  membership,  as  well  as  to 
retain  confidence  in  ourselves  and  in  each  other,  is  undoubtedly  our  duty. 
And  if  we  consider  that  those  who  are  to  confide  in  us  are  a  collection  from 
all  classes  and  descriptions  and  from  all  countries  of  which  our  nation  is 
composed,  scattered  promiscuously  over  this  vast  continent,  men  who  were 
originally  of  different  educations,  manners,  habits,  and  opinions,  we  shall 
see  the  difficulty  as  well  as  the  importance  of  this  part  of  our  charge. 

In  order  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  peace  and  union,  we  must  "love  one 
another."  But  this  cannot  abide  where  confidence  does  not  exist;  and 
purity  of  intention,  manifested  by  proper  actions,  is  the  very  foundation 
and  support  of  confidence.  Thus  "  united  we  stand,"  each  member  is  a  sup- 
port to  the  body  and  the  body  supports  each  member,  but  if  confidence 
fail,  love  will  grow  cold,  peace  will  be  broken,  and  "  divided  we  fall."  It 
therefore  becomes  this  body,  which  by  its  example  is  to  direct  the  course 
of  thousands  of  ministers  and  tens  of  thousands  of  members,  to  pay  strict 
attention  to  the  simplicity  of  gospel  manners  and  to  do  everything  as  in 
the  immediate  presence  of  God.  If  we  consider  the  nature  of  our  business, 
our  natural  imperfections,  and  the  history  of  the  Church  in  all  its  attempts 
to  reform  the  world,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  expected,  in  so  large  a  body,  that  all 
will  be  as  strictly  evangelical  as  they  should  be.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
such  failures  will  be  prevented  as  far  as  possible  by  both  your  action  and 
your  example. 

Standing  in  the  relation  I  do  to  you  and  the  connection  generally,  I 
feel  it  a  part  of  my  duty  to  submit  to  your  consideration  the  appointment 
of  the  Genesee  Conference.  And  perhaps  it  may  be  for  the  general  good 
if  in  your  wisdom  you  should  think  proper  to  take  into  consideration  a 
division  of  the  work  in  the  western  country,  and  a  proper  arrangement  of 
the  work  in  general;  and  the  magnitude  and  extent  of  the  work  which  the 
Lord  has  graciously  pleased  to  prosper  in  our  hands,  may  make  it  proper 
for  you  to  inquire  if  the  work  is  sufficiently  under  the  oversight  of  the 
superintendency,  and  to  make  such  arrangements  and  provision  as  your 
wisdom  may  approve.  I  would  also  suggest  the  necessity  of  keeping  in 
view  not  only  the  traveling,  but  the  relation  and  situation  also  of  our 
local  brethren,  and  to  pursue  that  plan  which  may  render  the  whole  more 
useful.  It  may  also  be  proper  to  bring  into  view  any  unfinished  business 
of  the  last  General  Conference.  Hitherto,  as  a  body,  we  have  been  pre- 
served by  our  well-digested  system  of  Rules,  which  are  as  sinews  to  the 
body,  and  form  the  bond  of  union;  but  it  is  evidence,  both  from  experience 
and  Scripture,  that  even  good  men  may  depart  from  first  principles  and 
from  the  best  of  rules:  it  may  therefore  be  proper  for  you  to  pay  some  at- 
tention to  the  administration,  to  know  the  state  both  of  the  traveling  and 
local  ministry,  as  it  relates  to  doctrine,  dicipline,  and  practice. 

Before  I  conclude,  permit  me,  my  dear  brethren,  to  express  a  few 

thoughts  concerning  the  view  I  take  of  the  relation  in  which  I  stand  to 

this  body.    It  is  only  by  virture  of  a  delegated  power  from  the  General 

Conference  that  I  hold  the  reins  of  government.    I  consider  myself  bound, 

11 


162  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

by  virture  of  the  same  authority,  to  exercise  discipline  in  perfect  conformity 
vith  the  Rules  of  our  Church,  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  I  consider  myself 
justly  accountable,  not  for  the  system  of  government,  but  for  my  admin- 
istration, and  ought  therefore  to  be  ready  to  answer  in  General  Conference 
for  my  past  conduct  and  be  willing  to  receive  information  and  advice  to 
perfect  future  operations.  I  wish  this  body  to  exercise  their  rights  in 
these  respects. 

I  take  pleasure  here  in  presenting  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for 
the  high  degree  of  confidence  which  my  beloved  brethren  have  placed  in 
me  and  especially  for  the  able  council  and  seasonable  support  afforded  by 
many,  which  has,  I  believe,  with  the  divine  aid,  preserved  and  supported 
me. 

Dear  brethren,  such  are  the  effects  of  our  high  responsibility  connected 
with  a  consciousness  of  my  insufficiency  for  so  high  a  task  that  I  move 
with  trembling.  Your  eyes  and  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon  me  for  good. 
We  shall  rejoice  together  to  see  the  armies  of  our  Israel  wisely  conducted 
carrying  the  triumphs  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  the  Lord  will  rejoice  to  "  make  his  ministers  a  flame  of  fire." 

In  you  I  have  confidence  and  on  you  I  depend  for  such  aid  as  the  wis- 
dom of  men  can  give,  and,  above  all,  I  trust  in  divine  aid.  Influenced  by 
these  considerations,  with  my  situation  in  full  view,  I  cannot  entertain  a 
thought  of  bearing  such  awful  responsibility  longer  than  I  am  persuaded 
my  services  are  useful  to  the  Church  of  God  and  feel  a  confidence  of  being 
aided  by  your  counsel  and  support,  which  is  for  you  to  give  in  any  way  or 
form  you  may  see  proper.  And  while  I  join  with  you,  my  dear  brethren, 
in  pure  gospel  simplicity  to  commit  and  recommend  ourselves  and  our 
several  charges  to  the  special  care  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  I 
remain,  with  sentiments  of  love  and  confidence,  your  servant  in  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE. 

NEW  YORK,  May  6, 1812. 

The  following  extract  from  memoranda  of  Bishop  McKendree 
will  show  his  wisdom  in  this  matter: 

GENERAL  CONFERENCE,  NEW  YORK,  1812. 

The  president  (Bishop  McKendree)  invited  a  committee  of  the  most 
respectable  and  influential  members  of  that  Conference  as  his  council.  In 
doing  this,  he  designedly  left  out  some  who  were  supposed  to  be  his  con- 
fidential friends  and  selected  men  of  talents  of  different  sentiments  as  to 
the  polity  of  the  Church.  He  stated  to  them  his  necessity  of  council  on 
such  occasions;  complained  of  a  distant  and  reserved  carriage  toward  him, 
which  he  thought  was  improper  and  might  be  injurious;  assured  them  he 
had  no  selfish  ends,  and  then  presented  them  with  an  instrument  of  writing 
which  he  had  prepared  as  an  address  to  the  General  Conference.  And  as 
it  was  a  new  thing  among  us,  he  asked  them  to  consider  it  attentively  and 
give  him  their  opinion  without  reserve  upon  the  propriety  of  presenting  it; 
and  if  they 'thought  an  address  advisable,  to  examine  it  critically,  and  sug- 
gest such  alterations  or  additions  as  they  might  think  proper.  They  ex- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  163 

amined  it  and  reported  in  favor  of  the  address.  The  president  was  pleased 
with  their  freedom  and  delicacy  in  suggesting  an  amendment,  he  saw  the 
propriety  of  doing  so,  and  it  was  altered  on  account  of  its  having  a  partic- 
ular bearing.  W.  McK. 

Bishop  Asbury  had  said  at  the  opening  of  the  Conference, 
"I  hope  very  few  rules  will  be  made,"  meaning  thereby  to  dis- 
courage too  much  legislation.  This  was  wisely  said.  The 
Church  has  much  to  fear  from  this  quarter,  and,  unfortunately, 
has  suffered  greatly  by  overlegislating.  Indeed,  unnecessary 
interferences  with  individual  rights  have  always  been  disastrous 
to  the  peace  of  both  Church  and  State.  If  the  ends  of  govern- 
ment are  secured,  the  less  government  is  felt  the  better.  There 
are  always,  however,  restless  spirits  in  every  large  assembly 
who  are  ready  to  lead  the  more  timid  into  innovations  upon 
established  usages.  And  the  Conferences  of  the  Methodist 
Church  have  not  proved  an  exception  to  this  remark.  Attempts 
had  been1  made  at  every  General  Conference  since  1792  to 
change  the  mode  of  appointing  the  presiding  elders.  They  had 
always  been  appointed  by  the  bishops  upon  the  principle  that 
as  the  bishops  have  the  general  superintendence  of  the  work 
and  are  held  accountable,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  the  inter- 
pretation and  administration  of  the  Discipline  of  the  Church, 
they  should  have  the  power  to  select  those  to  whom,  in  their 
absence,  this  work  is  committed,  thus  associating  them  with 
the  bishops  in  the  oversight  of  the  Church.  Those  who  sought 
to  change  this  system  wished  to  make  the  office  of  presiding 
elder  elective  by  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  that  those  thus 
elected  should  constitute  the  bishops'  "council"  in  the  respec- 
tive Conferences.  Mr.  O'Kelly  had  proposed  the  principle  in- 
volved in  this  measure  in  the  resolution  offered  by  him  in  1792, 
the  rejection  of  which  was  the  ostensible  cause  of  his  secession 
from  the  Church.  It  was  proposed  in  1800  to  make  them  elec- 
tive and  was  lost.  This  question  was  brought  distinctly  before 
the  General  Conference  of  1808,  "while  the  constitution  drafted 
by  the  committee  was  under  consideration;  and  a  motion  having 
been  made  to  lay  the  report  of  the  committee  upon  the  table, 
and  by  the  question  it  was  done;  and  the  presiding  elder  ques- 
tion, as  it  was  called,  was  taken  up,  argued  at  great  length  and 
with  much  ability,  and  lost  by  a  large  majority.  After  this  the 
consideration  of  the  constitution  reported  by  the  committee 
was  resumed,  and  it  was  adopted." 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1812,  the  effort  was  renewed. 
Many  strong  and  good  men  were  its  advocates.  Among  them 


164  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

were  Jesse  Lee,  Asa  Shinn,  and  Nicholas  Snethen.  Two  days 
were  consumed  in  its  discussion,  but  the  Conference  refused  to 
make  the  change.  Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  were  both 
decidedly  opposed  to  the  change. 

The  South  and  West  have  always  been  conservative  upon 
this  question. 

Its  defeat  at  this  General  Conference  quieted  the  agitation 
for  a  short  period,  only  to  be  renewed  with  increasing  violence 
at  each  succeeding  General  Conference  until  1828,  when,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  it  was  finally  laid  to  rest. 

Another  topic  which  excited  much  interest  and  no  little 
controversy  at  this  Conference  was  the  ordination  of  local  dea- 
cons to  elder's  orders.  Some  leading  members  of  the  Confer- 
ence had  always  been  opposed  to  the  ordination  of  local  preach- 
ers, yet  the  majority  had  conferred  upon  them  eligibility  to 
deacon's  orders.  Now  that  it  was  proposed  to  graduate  the 
deacons  to  the  elder's  orders,  the  opposition  was  very  strong. 
The  strongest  objection  urged  against  the  measure  was  that  in 
view  of  their  relation  to  worldly  business  the  bishops  could  not 
consistently  require,  or  the  candidate  conscientiously  give,  the 
vow  to  devote  himself  "wholly  to  this  one  thing  (the  pastoral 
ministry)  and  draw  all  his  cares  and  studies  this  way."  That 
the  duties  of  an  elder,  as  set  forth  in  the  ordination  formulary, 
contemplated  a  real  and  active  pastorate,  and  that  to  confer 
the  office  upon  those  who  were  known  at  the  very  time  to  be 
debarred  both  by  law  and  their  relation  to  secular  matters  from 
fulfilling  its  duties  was  not  only  inconsistent  in  itself,  but  would 
tend  to  diminish  the  sense  of  responsibility  in  the  traveling 
ministry  who  should  be  ordained  under  the  same  vows.  On 
the  other  side,  it  was  said  that  if  they  were  called  to  the  ministry 
they  ought  to  be  able  to  perform  all  its  functions;  and  that  as 
the  Church  had  already  conferred  upon  them  the  inferior  office, 
and  especially  as  they  might  be  more  useful  and  their  services 
were  much  needed,  they  should  be  admitted  to  the  office. 
This  view  prevailed,  and  thenceforth  the  local  deacons  were 
eligible  to  elder's  orders  after  four  years'  probation  and  upon 
their  recommendation  by  the  quarterly  meeting  Conference 
certifying  their  qualifications  and  that  their  services  were  needed 
in  the  circuits  where  they  reside.  It  was  also  then  "provided 
that  no  slaveholder  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  local  elder  in 
any  State  or  Territory  where  the  civil  law  will  admit  eman- 
cipation or  suffer  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  his  freedom." 

As  Bishop  McKendree  had  in  his  address  called  the  attention 
of  the  General  Conference  to  the  superintendency,  the  commit- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  165 

tee  which  was  appointed  on  episcopacy  having  taken  into  con- 
sideration the  propriety  of  increasing  the  number  of  bishops, 
reported  that  it  was  not  necessary,  and  the  report  was  adopted. 
Thus  were  these  three  important  questions  settled;  and  after 
a  harmonious  session  of  twenty-two  days,  the  Conference  ad- 
journed to  meet  in  Baltimore,  May  1, 1816. 

"The  Episcopal  Committee"  requested  the  bishops  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1812  to  give  their  opinions  as  to  the 
propriety  and  necessity  of  electing  another  bishop;  and  also  as 
Bishop  Asbury  had  been  invited  by  the  British  Conference  to 
visit  England,  the  Episcopal  Committee  wished  to  know  if  he 
contemplated  doing  so.  His  reply  to  these  questions,  in  his  own 
handwriting,  was  given  to  the  committee,  and  by  them  to 
Bishop  McKendree,  as  appears  by  the  indorsement  of  S.  G. 
Roszell.  This  was  his  answer: 

NEW  YORK,  May  9,  1812. 

My  Dear  Brethren:  Whatever  I  may  have  thought  or  spoken  in  former 
times  upon  strengthening  the  episcopacy,  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  say  to  you 
at  this  time,  Do  this,  or  that.  I  am  bound  in  duty  to  serve  the  connection 
with  all  my  power  of  body  and  mind,  as  long  and  as  largely  as  I  can;  and, 
while  I  am  persuaded  that  my  services  are  needed  and  acceptable,  to  give 
up  all  thoughts  of  visits  out  of  the  American  Continent,  I  feel  myself  indis- 
pensably bound  to  the  Conference  and  my  colleague,  never  to  leave  them 
nor  forsake  them  upon  the  above  conditions.  F.  ASBURY. 

The  General  Conference  over,  Bishop  McKendree  resumed 
his  toilsome  work  with  the  prospect  before  him  of  increasing 
labor  and  diminished  assistance,  for  Bishop  Asbury  was  rapidly 
wearing  himself  down  by  incessant  travel  and  anxiety.  When 
Bishop  McKendree  first  entered  in  1808  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office,  Bishop  Asbury  proposed  they  should  both  attend  all  the 
Conferences  and  preside  alternately.  But  after  a  while,  having 
witnessed  the  ability  of  his  colleague  in  the  chair,  he  seldom 
undertook  to  conduct  the  public  duties  of  his  office  in  presiding 
over  the  deliberations  of  the  Conferences  and  confined  himself 
generally  to  the  task  of  stationing  the  preachers,  assisting  in 
ordination,  and  occasional  addresses  to  the  preachers.  Yet  his 
presence  and  counsel  were  highly  appreciated  by  his  colleague 
and  the  preachers  generally.  But  his  strength  began  to  fail 
very  rapidly,  and  he  was  often  prostrated  by  fatigue  and  sick- 
ness. The  year  following  the  General  Conference  of  1812  found 
him  at  every  Annual  Conference,  and  for  several  years  after- 
wards he  continued  to  drag  himself  along  by  the  force  of  an 
almost  indomitable  will,  trying  to  perform,  as  heretofore,  the 
duties  of  an  itinerant  general  superintendent;  and  as  nothing 


166  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

very  unusual  marked  the  history  of  this  year's  labor,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  give  the  details  of  their  travels. 

During  the  winter  of  1811-12,  the  earthquakes  occured  in  the 
Western  Country.  The  whole  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  was 
violently  and  frequently  agitated,  and  the  region  of  New  Ma- 
drid, on  the  Mississippi  River,  seems  to  have  been  the  center  of 
subterranean  convulsion.  Fissures  opened  in  the  earth,  lakes 
of  considerable  size  and  depth  were  formed  by  the  sinking  of  the 
ground,  all  accompanied  by  a  rumbling  sound  and  violent  con- 
cussions. The  effect  upon  the  river  itself  was  such  that  at  New 
Madrid  boats  were  wrenched  from  their  moorings,  and  sub- 
merged by  the  agitation  of  the  waves.  Many  lives  were  lost. 
This  state  of  things  continued  to  occur  at  irregular  intervals  for 
several  months,  until  the  whole  country  became  alarmed.  In 
many  instances  this  excitement  assumed  a  religious  aspect,  and 
a  widespread  and  glorious  revival  extended  through  the  greater 
part  of  the  Western  work,  insomuch  that  the  two  Conferences 
(Ohio  and  Tennessee)  into  which  the  Western  Conference  was 
divided  by  the  General  Conference,  reported  in  the  fall  of  1812 
a  net  annual  increase  of  more  than  fifty  per  cent;  so  that  the 
Lord  had  not  only  "terribly  shaken  the  earth,  but  had  also 
mercifully  shaken  the  hearts  of  the  people." 

The  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain  by  our  govern- 
ment, June  18,  1812,  and  the  excitement  naturally  growing  out 
of  it,  had  an  unhappy  effect  upon  the  work  generally  and 
especially  at  first  in  the  northern  and  eastern  sections  of  the 
country;  and  as  this  state  of  things  continued  until  January, 
1815,  the  whole  country  became  deeply  excited  with  military 
ardor  and  consequently  less  susceptible  of  religious  impressions. 
The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Henry  Wilkins,  of  Baltimore, 
an  old  and  highly  esteemed  friend,  to  Bishop  McKendree,  may 
be  interesting  to  the  reader,  not  only  because  of  the  good  sense 
and  piety  it  exhibits,  but  also  because  of  its  allusions  to  the 
attack  of  the  British  upon  Baltimore  and  the  patriotism  of  our 
preachers  and  people: 

BALTIMORE,  August,  11, 1813. 

Dear  Brother:  Your  letter  gave  us  great  consolation  to  find  you  are  do- 
ing so  well  under  so  many  disadvantages.  Afflictions  try  both  our  faith 
and  our  feelings;  though  I  do  not  see  why  they  should  try  the  former, 
for  we  ought  not  to  expect  to  be  delivered  by  faith  from  the  physical 
elements  of  the  world;  for  faith,  though  so  powerful  against  moral  elements, 
has  not  acted  against  the  physical  since  the  gospel  was  fully  established  in 
the  days  of  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles.  If  unbelief  would  rid  us  of  afflic- 
tion, then  our  faith  would  be  severely  tried;  but  I  believe,  and  in  this  you 
will  join  me,  that  religion  is  best  both  for  soul  and  body.  Since  you  were 
here  I  have  had  a  full  share  of  bodily  infirmities. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  167 

The  British  are  now  in  sight;  a  score  of  ships  of  war  fill  up  the  bay  from 
hence  to  Annapolis.  Kent  Island  is  in  their  possession;  the  little  city  is  in 
danger.  We  are  strong.  One  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  cannon  environ 
our  city — part  movable.  We  have  about  eight  hundred  cavalry,  forty- 
five  hundred  infantry,  two  thousand  expected  from  the  country;  a  thou- 
sand regulars  at  Annapolis,  who  will  march  if  wanted.  I  hope  with  this 
force  no  blood  will  be  shed,  the  British  troops  being  about  four  thousand 
altogether. 

All  parties  are  wishing  the  British  to  be  expelled.  There  is  no  political 
division  in  our  Church,  though  great  coldness  and  few  conversions.  Our 
ministers  are  liked  very  well.  You  do  better  than  the  market  people,  they 
generally  couple  a  fat  and  a  lean  one.  You  have  given  us  three  smart  ones 
out  of  four.  The  fourth,  though  of  pleasing,  easy  manners,  does  not  show 
industry  in  reading;  perhaps  a  defective  eye  may  give  him  pain,  but  with- 
out much  reading  the  city  will  soon  swallow  the  few  ideas  a  man  has  of  his 
own. 

I  send  you  some  books  and  the  love  of  all  our  family.  I  trust  we  are 
seeking  after  true  riches,  and  gain  some.  As  to  this  world,  while  the  war 
lasts  I  must  purchase  stock  in  the  Bank  of  Contentment,  which  I  believe 
is  quite  as  good  as  gold.  Now  what  shall  I  say  but  bid  you  go  on  in  the 
glorious  path  you  have  set  out  in,  and  may  your  last  days  be  your  best 
days  and  eternal  glory  be  your  reward! 

Your  friend,  HENRY  WILKINS. 

A  characteristic  letter  from  the  venerable  and  devoted  Free- 
born  Garrettson  was  received  by  the  Bishop  at  the  Genesee 
Conference.  It  is  as  follows : 

RHINEBECK,  June  29,  1813. 

My  Very  Dear  Brother:  I  thought  duty  called  me  to  go  down  to  New 
York  immediately  after  Conference  and  direct  in  fixing  matters.  [Mr. 
Garrettson  was  then  presiding  elder  of  New  York  District.]  I  was  sorry 
to  find  an  unwillingness  to  receive  Brother  W.  in  Jamaica  Circuit,  and 
took  the  liberty  to  agree  that  he  and  Brother  Lyon  should  change.  I 
stayed  a  week  in  the  city,  and  stepped  down  to  Maryland;  sent  a  messen- 
ger round  and  preached  in  various  places  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
and  visiting  many  of  my  friends.  I  also  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  the 
savagelike  depredations  in  Havre  de  Grace,  I  may  call  it  the  native  place 
of  my  ancestors.  [This  place  was  burned  by  the  British  under  Admiral 
Cockburn  in  1813.]  I  thought  it  a  good  time  to  give  them  a  faithful  warn- 
ing, but  0  how  my  heart  did  bleed  to  see  so  many  of  them  living  in  fullness 
and  unconcerned  about  their  eternal  welfare. 

I  have  traveled  about  seven  hundred  miles  since  our  Conference  (May 
20)  and  preached  to  thousands  with  pleasure  and  freedom.  I  must  begin 
to  preach  as  if  every  sermon  were  my  last.  In  fact,  I  view  myself  as  a 
tottering  monument  of  mercy  on  the  brink  of  eternity.  As  my  dear  Fath- 
er Asbury  observed,  I  have  gone  in  the  better,  though  not  the  best  way, 
the  whole  of  my  life.  I  have  nothing  to  depend  on  for  salvation  but  an 
interest  in  the  meritorious  righteouness  of  Christ.  In  him  I  have  salvation. 
I  spent  one  Sabhatb  in  Philadelphia.  They  are  fond  of  Emory  in  the 


168  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Academy.  I  could  have  wept  when  I  found  the  names  of  Cooper  and 
Sargent  like  to  drop  from  our  Conference  records.  It  would  have  given 
us  pleasure  to  have  had  you  and  Bishop  Asbury  at  our  house.  Pray  for 
me.  If  I  cannot  follow  foot  by  foot,  I  will  try  to  keep  hard  by,  and  hope  to 
have  some  humble  place  in  our  Heavenly  Father's  kingdom.  I  profess 
to  love  Church  and  State;  and  if  I  knew  I  had  a  little  finger  to  raise  against 
the  order  or  union  of  either,  I  would  cut  it  off.  God  bless  you,  my  dear 
friend !  I  feel  union  with  your  spirit . 

Yours  affectionately,  F.  GARRETTSON. 

We  find  the  following  letter  in  the  "Life  of  Bishop  Emory," 
written  by  Bishop  McKendree  in  reply  to  a  note  Mr.  Emory 
had  addressed  him  at  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
1812.  Mr.  Emory  was  then  a  young  preacher,  and  the  letter 
is  alike  honorable  to  the  writer  and  receiver: 

WEDNESDAY  MORNING,  April  29,  1812. 

Dear  Brother:  It  is  no  small  gratification  to  find  you  must  take  an 
affectionate  leave  of  me,  if  it  is  by  note.  Your  apology  for  not  seeing  me 
more  than  supplied  the  visit,  because  it  was  an  act  of  favor.  [The  Bishop 
was  quite  sick  and  not  able  to  bear  company.]  Indeed,  I  was  weak,  and 
though  much  better,  I  am  far  from  strong  now,  for  I  tremble  and  have  to 
rest  while  about  this  letter. 

You  ask  a  place  in  my  prayers.  If  that  is  a  favor,  you  have  posessed  it 
ever  since  I  saw  you  first.  "God  forbid  I  should  sin  against  the  Lord  in 
ceasing  to  pray  for  you."  Dear  Johnny,  permit  me  to  tell  you  that  you 
possess  a  full  proportion  of  my  confidence  and  affection.  I  shall  not  forget 
the  tenderness  and  respect,  as  of  a  son  to  a  father,  with  which  you  treated 
me;  nor  the  Christian  meekness  and  deep  humility  depicted  in  your  man- 
ners— graces  which  I  hope  you  will  never  forfeit  your  title  to.  Jesus  was 
meek  and  lowly  of  heart.  There  was  an  expression  in  your  countenance 
that  attracted  my  attention,  but  afforded  no  satisfactory  solution.  Have 
you  injured  or  impaired  your  constitution  by  ministerial  exertions?  or  has 
the  climate  of  affliction  reduced  you?  or  are  you  subject  to  excessive  fast- 
ing? Useful  fasting  is  so  shamefully  neglected  that  a  check  on  that  subject 
should  be  ministered  and  received  with  caution.  But  extremes  are  dan- 
gerous. 

Your  friend  and  brother,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

Bishop  McKendree  attended  the  New  York  Conference  at 
Albany,  June  4,  1812;  the  New  England  Conference  at  Lynn, 
Mass.,  June  20;  the  Genesee  Conference  at  Lyons  Town, 
July  23;  various  camp  meetings  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Tennessee;  the  Tennessee  Conference  at  Fountain 
Head,  November  10;  the  South  Carolina  Conference  at  Charles- 
ton, December  19;  the  Virginia  Conference  at  Newbern,  N.  C., 
February  10,  1813;  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  Baltimore, 
March  24;  and  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in  Philadelphia, 
April  24,  1813. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Difficulties  and  comforts — New  York  Conference — New  England  Con- 
ference changed  on  account  of  war — Tendency  of  selling  pews — Gen- 
esee  Conference — Ohio — Steubenville — Tennessee  Conference — Can- 
not attend  Louisiana  Conference — T.  L.  Douglass — Bishops  Asbury 
and  McKendree  on  slavery — Blackman's  position  on  the  subject — He 
goes  as  chaplain  to  volunteers  at  the  call  of  General  Jackson — William 
Burke's  letter — South  Carolina  and  Virginia  Conferences — "Official 
decisions' ' — Buxton — New  York  Conference — Bishop  Asbury's  opinion 
of  Bishop  McKendree's  sermon — Joshua  Marsden  in  United  States — 
He  applies  for  employment — Resigns  it — Why? — Bishop  Asbury's  con- 
dition— His  will — Why  he  expected  to  live  long — Painful  round  of  Con- 
ferences in  1814 — Bishop  McKendree's  fall — : Wounding  hip  and  ribs — 
Tennessee  Conference  held  at  camp  meeting  in  Logan  County,  Ky. — 
Neither  of  the  bishops  can  be  at  the  Mississippi  Conference — Genesee 
Conference — Tornado — Gets  to  Cincinnati — South  Carolina — Virginia 
— Maryland — Pennsylvania — Asbury  preaches — Found  Dr.  Coke  at  Al- 
bany, N.  Y. — Ohio  Conference  at  Mechanicsburg — "Long  earnest  talk" 
— Bishop  Asbury  crosses  Alleghany  sixty-two  times — Both  bishops  at- 
tend the  Tennessee  Conference — Separated  never  to  meet  again  on  earth 
— McKendree  at  South  Carolina  Conference — Asbury  within  thirty 
miles — Very  feeble — Hammet's  people  return — Virginia  Conference  at 
Raleigh — Bishop  McKendree's  father  dies — Baltimore  Conference — 
Bishop  Asbury  absent,  and  preaches  his  last  sermon  in  Richmond,  Va. — 
His  death — Bond's  letters  inclosing  Asbury's  views  and  last  letter  to 
McKendree —  His  person  and  character. 

THE  years  1813, 1814,  and  1815  were  spent,  like  the  previous 
five  years  of  his  life,  in  almost  constant  travel  or  in  holding 
Conferences.  He  is  forced  to  exclaim:  "No  rest;  but  little 
chance  to  read;  always  having  company,  and  few  opportunities 
of  reflection,  except  on  horseback!"  But  he  found  this  state 
of  things  as  unfriendly  to  piety  as  to  peace  and  quietude.  Hard 
rides,  promiscuous  crowds  at  taverns,  a  diseased  body,  and  con- 
stant anxiety  of  mind  in  view  of  his  responsible  position  chafed 
and  worried  him;  yet,  conscious  of  his  own  honesty  and  purity 
of  purpose,  he  strove  to  know  his  duty  and  to  do  it  without 
murmuring.  Communion  with  God  and  the  esteem  of  the 
Church  were  sources  of  comfort  to  his  heart  during  many  an 
hour  of  trial  and  sorrow.  If  his  labors  and  afflictions  abounded, 
so  did  his  comforts.  He  that  surrenders  his  own  will  to  God 
will  be  satisfied  to  do  or  suffer  as  God  wills.  Happy  are  they 
to  whom  faith  gives  the  victory  over  sin  and  self.  The  longest 


170  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

life  is  soon  over,  and  in  its  best  condition  is  still  a  battle;  and 
not  he  who  suffers  least,  but  he  who  most  bravely  and  wisely 
fights  that  battle  at  whatever  sacrifice  is  the  greatest  victor. 

Bishop  McKendree  presided  at  the  New  York  Conference 
held  in  Amenia,  May  20,  1813,  where  some  difficulties  among 
the  preachers  were  amicably  adjusted  through  his  prudent  and 
conciliatory  manner  of  conducting  the  matter  and  by  the  co- 
operation of  Freeborn  Garrettson,  Daniel  Hitt,  and  L.  Clark. 
"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers." 

"The  New  England  Conference  for  this  year  was  appointed 
to  be  held  at  New  London,  but  an  apprehended  attack  upon  the 
place  by  a  British  squadron  caused  it  to  be  removed  to  Col- 
chester,1 thirteen  miles  distant.  It  commenced  June  30.  The 
business  of  Conference  was  done  with  great  dispatch — sitting 
eight  hours  a  day — and  concluded  on  the  fourth  day."  He 
adds:  "It  is  feared  that  our  preachers  and  congregations  in  this 
part  of  our  work  will  drop  off  like  untimely  fruit.  They  build 
meetinghouses  upon  congregational  principles,  and  the  preachers, 
.  when  they  locate,  have  the  art  of  deriving  the  benefit.  It  is 
reported  that  they  are  giving  in  to  the  plan  of  building  very 
expensive  and  ornamental  houses;  selling  pews,  so  that  it  is 
made  difficult  for  the  poor  to  hear  the  gospel;  and  fixing  the 
government  in  the  hands  of  such  as  may  become  owners  of 
pews;  so  that  our  itinerant  preachers,  as  well  as  the  poor,  may 
be  excluded  when  men  of  the  world  may  choose  to  do  so.  Are 
these  things  so?  In  part,  if  not  in  whole.  Has  not  this  course 
a  tendency  to  injure  the  progress  of  experimental  religion  and 
destroy  the  itinerant  plan?  It  has." 

The  bishops  traveled  in  company  to  the  Genesee  Conference 
at  Westmoreland,  July  9, 1813,  and  the  tour  was  rendered  more 
than  ordinarily  pleasant  by  the  "remarkably  social  and  familiar 
manner  of  Bishop  Asbury."  Nothing  unusual  occurring  at  this 
Conference,  they  resumed  their  long  journey  westward.  Bishop 
McKendree  says:  "From  this  Conference  Bishop  Asbury 
traveled  more  than  a  week  with  me  on  my  appointments.  His 
mind  was  greatly  taken  up  with  his  contemplated  Natchez 
Conference.  He  seems  determined  to  go  to  it  and  is  much  en- 
gaged in  planning  for  his  journey." 

After  holding  the  Ohio  Conference  at  Steubenville,  September 

lBishop  Hedding  says  it  was  Salem.  (See  his  "Life,"  p.  229.)  Bishop 
Asbury,  in  his  Journal,  says  Colchester.  Bishop  McKendree,  in  his  Diary, 
says:  "The  Conference  was  moved  to  Brother  Morgan's,  in  Colchester." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  171 

1, 1813,  Bishop  McKendree  pushed  on  to  Tennessee  in  order  to 
spend  his  spare  time  with  his  aged  father,  who  had  removed 
from  Virginia  and  settled  in  Sumner  County,  Tenn.  The 
Conference  was  held  at  Reese's  Chapel,  in  Williamson  County, 
Tenn.,  October  1,  and  was  a  camp  meeting  Conference.  Both 
of  the  bishops  were  present. 

The  propriety  of  forming  a  new  Conference  in  the  Mississippi 
Territory,  which  had  heretofore  been  included  in  the  Tennessee 
Conference,  had  been  submitted  by  the  bishops  to  the  previous 
session  of  this  Conference,  and,  having  been  approved,  Bishop 
Asbury  had  appointed  a  session  to  be  held  there.  It  had  been 
his  intention  to  visit  it  in  the  interval  between  the  Tennessee 
and  South  Carolina  Conferences.  The  appointment  was  not 
inserted  in  the  General  Minutes,  and  Bishop  McKendree  had 
doubted  the  expediency  of  setting  it  off  under  existing  circum- 
stances. But  it  was  a  favorite  notion  with  Bishop  Asbury,  and, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  he  had  been  laying  his  plans  to  ac- 
complish it.  When,  therefore,  the  Tennessee  Conference 
opened  they  were  reminded  of  their  advice  given  to  the  bishops 
the  preceding  year,  and  Bishop  McKendree  announced  his 
readiness  to  go  and  hold  the  Conference,  if  he  could  obtain 
company  for  himself  and  help  for  the  new  Conference.  Bishop 
Asbury,  though  still  extremely  anxious  to  visit  that  section  of 
the  work,  confessed  that  in  view  of  his  health,  the  distance, 
and  his  apprehension  that  he  might  not  only  fail  to  reach  it, 
but  put  it  out  of  his  power  to  get  to  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference also,  he  felt  obliged  to  decline  the  attempt;  and  the 
Conference  dissuaded  Bishop  McKendree  from  going,  by  a 
resolution  "that  it  was  imprudent  to  venture  in  the  present 
state  of  Indian  hostilities." 

At  this  Conference  the  name  of  Thomas  Logan  Douglass,  a 
transfer  from  the  Virginia  Conference,  first  appeared  at  the 
Tennessee  Conference.  He  was  a  native  of  Person  County, 
N.  C.,  had  filled  some  of  the  most  important  appointments  in 
the  Virginia  Conference,  was  an  estimable  gentleman,  a  very 
fine  preacher,  and  a  most  popular  and  useful  presiding  elder.1 

1Thomas  L.  Douglas  was  of  low  stature,  rotund,  and  inclined  to  cor- 
pulency. He  was  naturally  amiable  and  retiring  in  his  manners.  He  had 
been  presiding  elder  several  years,  a  member  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1812,  and  was  greatly  admired  for  his  eloquence  in  the  city  of  New  York 
during  the  session.  In  private,  his  deportment  was  such  as  to  gain  the 
esteem  of  his  associates;  in  the  pulpit,  he  was  charming.  His  voice  was 
remarkable  for  melody  and  compass  and  was  perfectly  under  his  control. 


172  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Two  subjects  gave  the  bishops  much  trouble  at  this  Confer- 
ence— slavery  and  the  war.  The  Conference  was  stringent  in 
the  application  of  their  rules  against  buying  or  selling  slaves. 
Several  local  preachers  had  been  arrested  and  tried;  in  most 
instances  the  quarterly  meeting  Conferences  had  refused  to 
punish  them.  In  one  case,  however,  a  local  preacher  was  sus- 
pended and  appealed  to  the  Annual  Conference.  Learner 
Blackman,  his  presiding  elder,  defended  him.  He  denied  that 
the  general  rule  applied  to  the  case;  urged  the  inconsistency  of 
receiving  and  retaining  members  in  the  Church  who  owned 
them  and  of  expelling  those  who  bought  them;  said  that  the 
purchaser  had  made  the  condition  of  the  slave  much  better, 
and  may  have  been  influenced  by  the  most  humane  feelings, 
such  as  getting  husbands  and  wives  or  parents  and  children 
together;  that  the  Quarterly  Conferences  in  the  Nashville 
District  had,  in  other  cases,  refused  to  enforce  the  construction 
put  upon  the  law  by  the  Conference,  believing  that  it  is  no 
more  a  sin  for  preachers  than  for  members  to  have  them.  He 
declared  that  great  harm  had  already  been  done  by  this  officious 
intermeddling  with  legal  and  private  rights;  and,  finally,  that 
as  he  could  see  no  moral  wrong  in  it,  provided  the  slave  be 
treated  humanely,  he  could  not  and  would  not  conform  to 
their  views  of  the  rule.  Bishop  Asbury  said  nothing.  Bishop 
McKendree,  being  in  the  chair,  reminded  him  that  he  ought  to 
keep  the  rule  or  change  it.  The  Conference  affirmed  the  de- 
cision of  the  quarterly  meeting  Conference.  It  is  due,  however, 
to  the  body  to  say  that  there  was  a  strong  minority  opposed 
to  such  a  course. 

The  war  was  then  raging  between  our  country  and  England. 
The  Indians  on  the  borders  were  committing  horrid  cruelties, 
and  our  private  members  and  many  of  our  local  preachers,  fired 
by  patriotism  and  a  just  sense  of  duty  to  their  country,  rushed 
as  volunteers  to  the  scenes  of  war.  A  requisition  having  been 
made  in  Tennessee  for  volunteers  to  protect  Louisiana,  General 
Jackson  soon  called  out  a  large  body,  and  shortly  after  the  close 
of  the  Conference,  Learner  Blackman,  having  been  invited  and 
commissioned  by  the  General  to  go  with  him  as  chaplain,  left 

He  was  an  excellent  divine,  had  studied  the  economy  of  the  Church  very 
thoroughly,  and  was  strong  in  his  attachments  to  the  old  Methodist  polity. 
He  loved  the  Church,  and  the  bishops  loved  and  leaned  upon  him.  No 
man  has  done  more  for  Methodism  in  the  Tennessee  Conference  than  Mr. 
Douglass.  The  writer  loved  and  revered  him  as  a  father;  and  he  knows 
that  Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  held  him  in  the  highest  estimation. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  173 

his  district  and  most  faithfully  and  acceptably  labored  as  a  min- 
ister of  God  in  this  new  and  trying  position.  They  went  in 
flatboats,  and  his  habit  was  to  go  from  boat  to  boat  and  preach 
to  the  soldiers  and  visit  the  sick.  The  trip  was  a  long  one,  and 
they  were  disbanded  upon  their  arrival  at  Natchez,  whence 
Brother  Blackman  returned  forthwith  to  Tennessee  and  resumed 
the  duties  of  his  district.  This  propensity  among  the  traveling 
preachers  to  quit  their  regular  work  and  enter  the  army  gave 
the  bishops  much  trouble,  believing  that  the  regular  ministration 
of  the  gospel  is  their  proper  employment  and  that  if  this  should 
be  neglected  the  cause  of  God  must  suffer  seriously.  In  their 
opinion,  both  patriotism  and  religion  required  the  traveling 
ministry  to  adhere  to  their  appropriate  work. 

The  following  letter  from  an  early  pioneer  preacher  in  the 
West,  worn  down  by  labor,  possesses  a  melancholy  interest. 
It  was  written  to  the  Ohio  Conference  through  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree: 

CINCINNATI,  August  24,  1813. 

Dear  Brother:  I  have  served  in  the  traveling  connection  two  and  twenty 
years,  and,  in  my  weak  and  feeble  way,  have  devoted  my  whole  time  and 
what  few  talents  I  haVe  had  to  the  service  of  the  Church.  I  have  filled 
some  of  the  hardest  and  most  dangerous  stations  on  the  frontiers  of  Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky,  and  Tennessee.  I  have  missed  attending  but  two  Annual 
Conferences — the  first  at  Ebenezer,  Tenn.,  1801,  and  the  present,  1813. 
I  have  served  in  four  General  Conferences,  and  can  appeal  to  Him  that 
searcheth  all  hearts  that,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  I  have  acted  from 
pure  motives  and  with  no  other  design  than  to  promote  the  cause  of  God 
and  Methodism,  which  I  have  always  regarded  as  identical.  I  can  appeal 
to  my  brethren,  who  have  been  associated  with  me  that  I  have  not 
idled  away  my  time  in  visiting  either  friends  or  relatives.  I  have  visited 
my  parents  but  once  and  was  then  only  three  weeks  with  them.  In  the 
seventeen  years  I  have  been  married,  I  have  never  taken  time  to  go  with 
my  wife  to  visit  her  friends  and  relatives.  I  have  spent  neither  time  nor 
money  in  acquiring  property,  having  always  considered  it  beneath  the 
dignity  of  the  office  I  was  called  to  fill  and  contrary  to  the  rules  and  reg- 
ulations of  the  traveling  ministry.  As  to  this  world's  goods,  I  have  com- 
paratively nothing.  I  am  still  free  from  every  encumbrance  of  a  worldly 
nature.  During  the  time  I  have  labored  with  you,  I  have  conscientiously 
devoted  my  whole  time  to  the  work  and  have  avoided  every  needless  ex- 
pense. I  have  reason  to  bless  God  that  I  am  what  I  am — it  is  of  his  un- 
merited grace.  I  love  God,  his  people,  and  his  cause. 

I  have  labored  for  several  years  under  great  affliction  of  mind.  Several 
times  I  have  determined  to  ask  for  a  location.  I  am  not  well.  Upon  the 
slightest  change  of  weather  I  am  greatly  afflicted  with  a  complaint  of  my 
thorax,  so  that  sometimes  I  almost  lose  my  speech.  Through  the  summer 
I  have  a  thought  of  locating,  but  my  friends,  and  my  wife  especially. 


174  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

discourage  this.  Something,  too,  within  me  forbids  it  when  I  think  of 
retiring  from  the  work  which  I  love  as  I  do  my  life.  If  my  brethren  can 
give  me  a  supernumerary  relation,  I  shall  consider  myself  under  obligations 
to  them;  but  if  not,  please  grant  me  a  location. 

May  the  God  of  all  grace  preside  over  your  councils. 

Your  brother,  W.  BURKE. 

In  a  private  note  to  Bishop  McKendree,  he  insists  that  a 
stationed  preacher  should  be  sent  to  Cincinnati  the  next  year; 
that  it  must  not  be  put  back  in  the  circuit;  says  they  have  seven 
classes  and  two  hundred  members;  paid  his  allowance  the  past 
year  without  his  having  said  a  word  to  them  about  it,  and  sug- 
gests that  Brother  Lambdin  would  suit  the  people  very  well. 
He  concludes:  "And  now,  my  dear  brother,  perhaps  I  may  see 
you  no  more.  When  you  left  this  Conference,  I  lost  a  valued 
friend,  such  a  one,  perhaps,  I  shall  never  find  again;  but 
friendship  shatt  live  beyond  the  grave." 

These  old  friends  and  fellow  laborers  have  doubtless  met  and 
feel  no  regrets  at  having  toiled  long  and  suffered  much  in  their 
Master's  vineyard.  Now  their  rest  and  reward  are  eternal. 

At  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  in  Charleston,  December 
23,  1812,  he  says:  "The  Conference  kindly  invited  me  to  take 
one  of  their  body  to  travel  with  me  at  their  expense."  The 
generous  offer  was  gratefully  accepted,  and  James  Norton  was 
recommended  and  chosen;  and  having  traveled  with  the  bishops 
twelve  months,  returned  with  them  to  the  ensuing  Conference. 

At  the  Virginia  Conference,  the  bishops  were  by  vote  re- 
quested to  give  an  official  decision  of  the  question:  "Whether  a 
presiding  elder  could  lawfully  preside  over  a  committee  sitting 
upon  the  trial  of  a  local  preacher."  His  reply  was,  "He  can, 
and  sometimes  he  ought  to  do  so";  but  intimated  that  it  is 
usually  best  not  to  do  so.  Bishop  Asbury,  not  being  in  the 
chair,  but  present,  said  nothing.  The  Conference  did  not 
demur. 

Here,  too,  "Brother  Buxton,  having  objected  to  the  recom- 
mendation of  certain  local  preachers  for  ordination  because  the 
Quarterly  Conference  which  presented  them  was  composed  of 
very  few  members,  and  having  moved  that  the  Conference  de- 
termine what  proportion  of  the  official  members  of  a  circuit 
shall  constitute  a  Conference,"  the  president  decided  the  motion 
to  be  out  of  order,  because  it  would  operate  against  the  rule  of 
the  General  Conference. 

At  the  New  York  Conference  for  1813,  Bishop  Asbury's 
Journal  says: 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  175 

"Sunday,  23. — Bishop  McKendree  preached.  It  appeared 
to  me  as  if  a  ray  of  divine  glory  rested  on  him.  His  subject  was : 
'Great  peace  have  they  that  love  thy  law,  and  nothing  shall 
offend  them/  The  appearance,  manner,  and  preaching  of 
Brother  McKendree  produced  a  powerful  effect  on  Joshua 
Marsden,  a  British  missionary,  who  has  been  present  at  our 
Conference." 

The  name  of  Mr.  Marsden,  since  so  generally  and  favorably 
known  as  a  distinguished  and  useful  Wesleyan  minister  in 
England,  recalls  the  following  facts.  This  excellent  man  had 
been  laboring  in  Bermuda,  West  Indies,  as  a  missionary  for 
some  years.  Having  obtained  leave  to  return  to  England,  his 
wife  and  family  had  come  to  New  York  to  visit  her  parents 
and  await  his  arrival,  but  having  been  detained  longer  than  he 
expected,  when  he  reached  the  United  States  the  embargo  law 
was  in  force,  the  war  spirit  was  very  rife,  and  he  could  not  con- 
veniently or  safely  get  back  home.  Under  these  circumstances, 
he  attended  the  New  York  Conference,  and,  as  appears  from 
his  letters  now  before  the  writer,  applied  to  the  bishops  for 
employment  while  he  should  be  detained  here.  The  bishops 
complied  with  his  request,  but  he  was  so  harassed  and  persecuted 
by  political  and  ecclesiastical  zealots  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to 
resign  the  work  temporarily  assigned  him.  His  letter  to  the 
bishops  evinced  his  intelligence,  prudence,  and  piety. 

"No  cure  for  old  age"  was  verified  in  the  case  of  Bishop  As- 
bury.  If  indomitable  zeal,  courage,  will,  the  utmost  temper- 
ance, and  kindest  attention  of  physicians  and  friends  could  have 
preserved  his  energies,  he  would  have  defied  decline.  But  he 
was  now  approaching  his  seventieth  year,  and  the  long  battle 
of  life  was  nearly  over.  If  he  had  gone  by  short  and  easy  stages 
to  the  more  accessible  Conferences,  rested  when  weary  and  worn 
down  by  travel  and  disease,  and  been  contented  to  suffer  his 
younger  colleague  to  hold  the  more  distant  Conferences  alone, 
he  might,  by  divine  blessing,  have  lingered  a  few  more  years. 
Hosts  of  friends  opened  their  doors  to  him  and  urged  him  to 
rest  himself  and  recover  his  declining  health.  Rheumatism 
attacked  his  feet  and  limbs.  For  many  weeks,  and  in  midwinter 
too,  he  could  not  wear  a  shoe.  Sometimes  he  had  to  resort  to 
crutches,  was  frequently  unable  to  get  into  his  humble  carriage 
without  help,  and  often  had  to  preach  in  a  sitting  posture. 
The  pains  in  his  jaws  and  face  were  sometimes  excruciating, 
his  viscera  were  disordered,  he  lost  weight  constantly,  his  ex- 
tremities were  swollen,  and  his  skin  was  so  shriveled  and  his 


176  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

face  so  pallid  that  when  his  eyes  were  closed  he  looked  like  a 
corpse.  And  yet  he  scorned  to  rest.  After  a  few  hours  of  fitful 
sleep  he  would  be  up,  and  the  early  dawn  of  a  cold,  blustering, 
wintry  morning  would  find  him  on  his  way  to  a  distant  Confer- 
ence. If  roots  and  ruts,  rocks  and  mud  holes  were  too  severe 
upon  him,  and  he  had  to  groan,  "My  bones,  my  bonesf"  his 
faithful  nurse  would  place  him  on  horseback  until  he  could 
endure  the  fatigue  of  that  mode  of  traveling  no  longer.  Then, 
after  a  little  rest  at  the  first  house  on  the  roadside,  always 
closing  the  interview  with  prayer  and  exhortation,  he  would 
resume  his  route.  He  felt  that  he  ought  to  be  at  every  Confer- 
ence. And  duty  was  law  with  him.  He  was  a  soldier  acting 
under  orders  from  a  Captain  who  never  spared  himself,  and  how 
could  the  faithful  soldier  take  repose  on  a  battle  field,  where 
prizes  more  precious  than  diadems  were  to  be  won  or  lost? 
The  Church,  the  preachers,  and  the  souls  of  the  people — these 
were  the  thoughts  that  nerved  him  to  go.  It  was  vain  to  reason 
with  him.  Christ  had  called  and  chosen  him  to  be  a  soldier,  and 
his  "heart  and  mind  and  strength"  he  had  long  since  conse- 
crated to  him. 

That  there  was  nothing  of  wild  enthusiasm  in  the  mind 
of  Bishop  Asbury,  but  a  fervid,  intelligent,  and  apostolic  zeal 
like  that  which  actuated  apostles  and  martyrs  is  evident.  His 
Journal  shows  that  he  was  fully  aware  of  his  condition.  Hence, 
with  characteristic  brevity  and  disinterestedness,  he  says,  in 
June,  1813:  "I  have  made  my  will,  appointing  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree, Daniel  Hitt,  and  Henry  Boehm,  my  executors.  If  I 
do  not  in  the  meantime  spend  it,  I  shall  leave,  when  I  die,  an 
estate  of  two  thousand  dollars,  I  believe.  I  give  it  all  to  the 
Book  Concern.  This  money,  and  somewhat  more,  I  have  in- 
herited from  dear  departed  Methodist  friends  in  the  State  of 
Maryland  who  died  childless,  besides  some  legacies  which  I 
have  never  taken.  Let  all  return  arid  continue  to  aid  the  cause  of 
piety." 

In  August,  he  adds:  "I  addressed  a  'valedictory'  statement  of 
my  opinions  to  Bishop  McKendree  on  the  primitive  Church 
government  and  ordination.  I  shall  leave  it  with  my  papers." 
The  writer  having  found  this  very  interesting  document  among 
the  papers  of  Bishop  McKendree,  takes  great  pleasure  in  giving 
it  publication.  It  seems  to  have  been  prepared  with  great  care 
and  was  left  ready  for  the  press.  That  it  may  not  be  divided,  it 
is  reserved  for  the  next  chapter. 

Many  years  ago  the  writer  heard  Thomas  L.  Douglass  say 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  177 

that  he  was  much  impressed  by  the  remark  of  Bishop  Asbury 
that  "he  expected  to  live  to  be  an  old  man,  because  the  divine 
promise  to  them  who  honor  their  father  and  mother  applied  to 
him."  And  the  evidence  is  before  the  writer  that  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  remitting  annually  to  his  widowed  mother  in  Eng- 
land while  she  lived  all  he  could  possibly  spare.  Surely  "he 
inherited  the  promise." 

The  next  round  of  Conference  visitation  was  an  unusually 
painful  one  to  both  the  bishops — to  Bishop  Asbury,  on  account 
of  his  increasing  infirmities;  and  to  Bishop  McKendree,  because 
of  a  fall  from  his  horse,  which  "severely  wounded  him  in  his 
hip  and  ribs."1  This  fall  prevented  him  from  presiding  at  the 
Ohio  Conference,  and  Bishop  Asbury,  although  present,  was 
too  feeble  to  attempt  it.  Nor  did  Bishop  McKendree  recover 
entirely  from  the  effects  of  this  accident  for  several  months; 
for  at  the  Tennessee  Conference,  held  at  a  camp  meeting  in 
Logan  County,  Ky.,  in  1814,  Bishop  Asbury  says:  "The  injury 
received  by  Bishop  McKendree  was  so  great  that  it  is  yet  doubt- 
ful whether  he  will  so  far  recover  as  to  be  present  at  the  South 
Carolina  Conference."  Bishop  Asbury  felt  constrained  to 
give  up  the  attempt  to  visit  the  Mississippi  Conference,  lest 
neither  of  them  should  reach  the  South  Carolina  Conference. 

"Onward!"  however,  was  the  watchword  of  these  holy  and 
laborious  men.  The  horrors  of  an  Indian  war  induced  them  to 
avoid  the  Indian  Nation  by  a  circuitous  route,  through  the  up- 
per part  of  North  Carolina  into  South  Carolina,  into  Georgia, 

bishop  McKendree's  Journal  shows  that  he  attended  the  Genesee  Con- 
ference, at  Genoa,  July  14,  1814;  and  that  Bishop  Asbury  was  absent,  on 
account  of  illness;  that  in  passing  from  Genoa,  N.  Y.,  to  Ohio,  on 
July  29,  his  "horse  started  suddenly,  and  threw  him  with  great  violence 
among  the  rocks,  so  that  his  right  hip  and  side  suffered  considerable  injury. 
That  no  bones  were  broken,  is  wonderful."  He  adds:  "July  SO. — I  was 
taken  in  a  wagon  and  carried  twelve  miles,  to  my  good  friend  Thomas  Wes- 
ton's.  But  the  roads  were  rough,  and  I  suffered  much."  Then  follows  an 
account  of  five  deliberate  attempts  to  draw  blood  from  him,  failing,  finally, 
owing  to  the  dullness  of  the  old  lancet.  After  confinement  to  his  bed  for 
several  days,  then  using  crutches  awhile,  he  attempted  to  go  forward  on 
his  journey;  but,  after  accomplishing  one-fourth  of  a  mile,  he  was  glad  to 
return.  The  people,  however,  came  to  his  place  of  confinement,  and  he 
preached  and  held  class  meeting.  After  nearly  a  month's  detention,  he 
started  to  overtake  his  appointments. 

August  25. — He  gives  an  account  of  a  tornado  which  overtook  him  on 
the  Alleghany  Mountain,  when  limbs  and  trees  fell  all  around  him.    Push- 
ing forward,  he  got  to  Cincinnati  about  the  time  the  Conference  adjourned. 
12 


178  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

thence  to  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey, 
to  the  New  York  Conference,  at  Albany,  May,  1815,  where 
Bishop  Asbury  preached  the  funeral  sermon  of  Dr.  Coke. 
He  says  of  himself:  "Poor,  wheezing,  groaning,  coughing 
Francis  visited  the  Conference  chamber  on  Tuesday  and  Thurs- 
day." At  the  New  England  Conference,  June  1:  "At  Unity 
poor  Francis  was  shut  up  alone,  as  at  Albany."1  From  New 
Hampshire,  .back  he  travels  through  New  York,  Pennsylavnia — 
tried  to  preach  at  Little  York,  but  wanted  strength — thence 
again  across  the  mountains  into  Ohio,  turning  aside  to  attend  a 
camp  meeting  at  Mechancisburg;  thence  to  the  Ohio  Confer- 
ence, at  Lebanon,  September  14,  1815. 

About  this  period,  that  "long  and  earnest  talk"  occurred 
between  our  two  bishops  "about  the  affairs  of  the  Church  and 
the  future  prospects,"  etc.:  "The  western  part  would  be  the 
glory  of  America — would  have  five  Conferences,"  etc.  Yes, 
venerable  men,  in  less  than  half  a  century  from  that  date,  it 
will  have  more  than  ten  times  five  Conferences!  The  Southern 
division  has  now  thirty  Conferences,  and  it  is  presumed  the 
Northern  has  as  many  or  more;  and  "still  they  come."  At  the 
conclusion  of  that  talk,  Bishop  Asbury  said  to  his  colleague 
that,  "having  passed  his  seventieth  year,  he  found  himself 
unable  to  keep  up  with  the  Conferences."  A  most  reluctant 
admission.  Still  on  he  went,  through  Kentucky  to  the  Tennessee 
Conference  at  Bethlehem,  Wilson  County,  October  20,  1815. 
Here  he  preached,  but  says:  "My  eyes  fail:  I  will  resign  the 
stations  to  Bishop  McKendree."  Heretofore,  if  he  did  little 
else  at  Conference,  he  always  attended  to  stationing  the  preach- 
ers. He  knew  them  all,  and  knew  their  fields  of  labor,  and  they 
had  the  highest  confidence  in  his  impartiality  and  skill  in  adapt- 
ing the  workmen  to  the  work.  But  now  he  resigns  this  almost 
last  effort  at  active  usefulness.  He  was  now  exceedingly 
emaciated.  Consumption  seemed  to  have  united  with  asthma, 
rheumatism,  and  gravel  to  hasten  his  exit.  Yet  the  brave  old 
pilgrim  must  needs  follow  up  the  Conferences,  and  crossed  the 
Alleghanies,  about  the  sixty-second  time,  to  reach  the  South 
Carolina  Conference.  Bishop  McKendree's  Journal  states: 

"Bishop  Asbury  attended  the  Tennessee  Conference  in  the 
fall  of  1815,  which  was  the  last  time  I  was  blessed  with  his  per- 
sonal presence.  Here  we  parted,  in  hope  of  meeting  again  at 
the  South  Carolina  Conference,  in  Charleston.  For  the  ad- 

1See  Bishop  Asbury's  letter,  June  10,  1815. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  179 

vantage  of  accommodations  and  a  better  road,  he  went  by 
Knoxville  and  I  went  through  the  Cherokee  Nation.  Bishop 
Asbury  came  within  thirty  or  forty  miles,  but  could  not  reach 
the  Conference  on  account  of  affliction.  Here  all  the  remaining 
members  of  Mr.  Hammet's  Church,  consisting  of  a  few  whites 
and  a  considerable  number  of  colored  people,  returned  to  our 
Church,  a  thing  much  desired  by  Mr.  Asbury,  particularly  on 
account  of  the  colored  people,  to  whom  he  had  acted  as  a 
father  for  several  years. 

"The  Conference  kept  up  a  daily  communication  with  Mr. 
Asbury,  and  he  rejoiced  at  the  success  of  his  long-continued 
kindness  to  those  solitary  and  afflicted  people. 

"At  the  close  of  the  Conference  he  was  better,  and,  as  my 
arrangements  did  not  permit  me  to  visit  him,  I  pursued  my 
appointments,  hoping  to  see  him  at  the  Virginia  Conference; 
but  in  this  I  was  sadly  disappointed,  and  learned,  by  the  result, 
that  our  interview  at  the  Tennessee  Conference  closed  our  joint 
labors  and  earthly  associations. 

"Previously  to  the  Tennessee  Conference,  Bishop  Asbury 
was  with  me,  at  my  father's  in  the  Fountain  Head  settlement. 
While  we  were  there  my  father  took  his  bed,  complaining  of 
nothing  but  extreme  debility.  In  this  situation  he  remained 
about  two  weeks,  and  died  in  peace. 

"I  arrived  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  in  time  for  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference, much  exhausted  by  traveling  and  preaching.  Here  I 
received  an  account  of  the  death  of  my  father  and  that  Bishop 
Asbury's  state  of  health  would  not  admit  of  his  getting  to 
Conference.  In  addition  to  these  afflictions,  the  work  of  an 
important  Conference  devolved  on  me  alone;  but  I  was  gra- 
ciously sustained  and  much  assisted  by  an  affectionate  and 
very  kind  body  of  preachers.  The  Conference  over,  I  pursued 
my  appointments,  still  hoping  to  meet  with  Bishop  Asbury  at 
the  Baltimore  Conference. 

"The  preachers  met  at  the  appointed  time,  and  understood 
the  Bishop's  health  was  very  bad.  My  health  was  delicate, 
but  I  was  mercifully  supported.  The  preachers  felt  for  me  and 
rendered  me  all  the  aid  they  could.  Their  sympathy  was  a 
comfort  to  me." 

The  following  letter  from  John  Wesley  Bond,  the  beloved 
and  faithful  traveling  companion  of  Bishop  Asbury,  inclosing 
one  from  Bishop  Asbury  to  Bishop  McKendree,  perhaps  the 
last  he  ever  wrote,  will  be  read  with  interest,  because  it  evinces 
the  ruling  passion  of  the  dying  Bishop,  his  love  of  souls,  and 


180  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

anxiety  for  the  Church.  It  was  written  about  a  month  before 
his  death,  while  he  was  trying,  "in  age  and  feebleness  extreme," 
to  reach  the  General  Conference  at  Baltimore.  In  the  midst  of 
his  deep  and  complicated  afflictions,  although  so  utterly  worn 
down  that  he  alone  thought  he  could  travel  and  his  best  friends 
thought  each  day's  short  journey  must  be  his  last,  this 
heroic  man  still  struggled  forward,  and  with  characteristic  dis- 
interestedness employed  his  thoughts  about  preachers  and  mis- 
sions and  the  General  Conference.  Noble  old  man!  a  martyr's 
zeal  and  reward  are  thine. 

AT  BROTHER  WILLIAM  WILLIAMS,  18  MILES  FROM 
LOUISBURG,  N.  C.,  February  29,  1816. 

Bishop  McKendree — Dear  Brother:  Not  knowing  where  a  letter  would 
overtake  you  short  of  Georgetown,  I  have  deferred  writing  until  now  that 
my  letter  may  give  you  the  latest  intelligence. 

It  would  be  a  great  gratification  to  me  if  we  could  get  on  to  the  Balti- 
more Conference;  nevertheless,  I  have  constantly  opposed  making  the  at- 
tempt, well  knowing  that  Father  Asbury's  health  would  not  admit  of  it. 
He  is  a  little  better  than  when  I  wrote  last,  but  still  very  feeble.  Last  Sab- 
bath, for  the  first  time  this  year,  he  spoke  to  the  society  at  Brother  King's, 
in  Raleigh.  He  spoke  for  some  time  and  with  more  strength  than  I  expect- 
ed. Brother  Hinds's  quarterly  meeting  commenced  in  Raleigh  on  Satur- 
day last.  Brother  Hinds  attended,  but,  having  the  fever  and  ague,  was 
unable  to  preach.  Notwithstanding  my  frequent  loss  of  sleep,  my  health 
is  nearly  as  usual,  for  which  I  cannot  be  sufficiently  thankful. 

Respecting  my  next  year's  appointment,  I  need  say  nothing  more  than 
this:  if  I  am  judged  worthy,  I  am  still  willing  to  take  my  present  or  any 
other  work  which  may  be  thought  best.  As  to  my  pecuniary  demands 
upon  Conference,  I  have  none,  Father  Asbury  has  insisted  on  bearing 
these  himself.  My  expenses  he  has  borne  hitherto,  and  he  has  paid  my 
quarterage  for  the  first  three  quarters,  the  other  he  will  pay  when  due. 

Your  affectionate,  though  younger  and  unworthy,  brother  in  the  gospel, 

J.  W.  BOND. 

AT  BROTHER  MATTHEW  MYRICK'S, 
BRUNSWICK  COUNTY,  VA.,  March  4,  1816. 

P.  S. — Not  having  had  an  opportunity  of  sending  my  letter  before  now, 
I  open  it  to  inform  you  that  respecting  the  missions,1  Father  Asbury  finds 
his  heart  much  set  on  them.  He  says  he  will  hazard  an  opinion  that  you 
may  find  in  the  Schuylkill  District  alone  not  less  than  one  hundred  vacant 
or  broken  congregations,  and  that  the  ministers  they  have,  whether  reg- 
ular or  irregular,  he  believes  are  just  such  as  the  devil  would  have  them  to 
be.  The  object,  then,  is  sufficient  to  claim  attention:  the  main  object  is  to 
get  men.  He  thinks  Brothers  Folks,  Fechbye,  and  Swaewalder  ought  to 

'Referring,  we  suppose,  to  the  German  population,  to.whom  Bishop  Asbury  wished  missiona- 
ries should  be  sent. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  i8i 

volunteer;  but  if  we  cannot  get  missionaries  in  the  traveling  connection, 
we  must  get  them  out  of  the  local.  The  work  is  important,  the  expense 
considerable;  it  will  not  do  to  be  taken  up  and  put  down  lightly.  The 
printing  of  so  many  hymn  books  and  Disciplines,  together  with  the  sup- 
port of  so  many  missionaries,  will  require  a  fund  of  four  or  five  thousand 
dollars;  but  this  will  be  but  like  lending  it  to  the  missions,  for  when  so- 
cieties are  formed,  they  will  pay  it  back.  In  the  meantime  they  must  be 
supported  at  the  outset.  He  wishes  the  missionaries  to  make  collections 
and  try  to  get  a  living  where  they  labor,  always  accountable,  as  every 
traveling  preacher  is,  to  his  presiding  elder  and  the  Conference  for  what 
he  receives.  All  the  preachers  he  desires  to  exert  themselves  to  make  col- 
lections for  the  missionaries;  and  he  thinks  the  mile  subscriptions,  properly 
attended  to,  will  be  competent  to  make  up  all  missionary  deficiencies.  He 
wants  the  Conference  to  say  what  they  shall  be  allowed  for  quarterage  and 
board.  He  suggests  about  $260  to  the  married  and  $120  to  the  unmarried 
men,  and  they  should  have  prompt  pay. 

Father  Asbury  thinks  there  are  half  a  million  of  Germans  in  our  country, 
the  poorest  and  richest  of  any  people  among  us;  and  that  thousands  of 
Africans  among  us  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  gospel  means  in  a  much 
greater  degree  than  they  do.  J.  W.  BOND. 

Here  follows  the  last  letter  of  Bishop  Asbury,  inclosed,  as 
stated  above,  to  Bishop  McKendree.  It  is  suggestive  as  to  the 
appointments  in  the  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences 
and  is  in  the  abrupt  style  of  the  senior  bishop: 

My  Dear  Son:  Were  it  proper  and  possible,  I  should  greatly  enjoy  to 
be  near  thee  and  the  Conferences,  but  perhaps  I  should  weary  myself,  as 
I  have  done,  and  hinder  more  than  help  you. 

1.  If  I  may  say  anything  of  the  stations:  does  Joseph  Frye  hold  his  zeal? 
If  so,  there  is  no  man  more  fit  to  preside  in  the  Monongahela  District. 

2.  If  we  take  up  Germans  missions,  it  must  be  spiritedly.    I  wish  we  had 
four  men  who  would  offer  freely,  and  serve  faithfully,  married  or  single; 
our  hymn  book  translated;  a  thousand  copies  of  Discipline,  correct  from 
the  General  Conference.    If  they  will  not  sell,  give  them  away  to  the  peo- 
ple.    Send  a  missionary  to  Schuylkill  District,  Susquehanna,  Carlisle, 
and  Monongahela — presiding  elders  holding  cash  to  pay  the  missionaries 
quarterly — the  missionaries  making  collections  and  being  accountable 
for  these  also  to  the  Conferences. 

I  wish  the  change  of  Boehm  and  Roberts,1  because  of  Henry's  usefulness 
in  German. 

We  have  covered  the  three  hundred  dollars  to  Virginia  Conference.  If  ei- 
ther Baltimore  or  Philadelphia  is  deficient  one  or  two  hundred  we  are  ready. 

Had  I  power  to  be  present,  the  stewards  would  have  a  correct  account 
of  all  we  have  received  at  Conferences  and  expended  upon  road  expenses. 

'Robert  R.  Roberts  was  then  presiding  elder  of  Schuylkill  District,  and  Henry  Boehm  of 
Chesapeake  District.  He  suggest  a  change  of  districts  between  these  men.  The  former  waa 
made  bishop  in  about  a  month. 


182  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

In  1816  I  asked  thirty  dollars,  they  sent  forty.  The  incredible  toil  of  Wes- 
ley Bond  is  only  known  to  me;  I  must  reward  him.  His  character  is  good; 
he  has  attempted  to  moderate  his  sermons;  preaches  to  acceptance,  gen- 
erally beloved  by  the  preachers  and  the  people. 

I  have  written  to  the  General  Conference;  wish  you  to  see  it.  I  have 
written  to  Mr.  Benson,1  and  wish  the  General  Conference  to  hear  a  copy 
of  the  letter  read. 

In  great  love,  F.  ASBURY. 

At  the  close  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  Bishop  McKendree 
started  for  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in  company  with  his 
old  friend,  Rev.  Nelson  Reed,  but,  after  one  day's  journey,  he 
was  violently  attacked  with  rheumatism.  The  disease  having 
apparently  abated  after  a  week,  he  tried  to  proceed,  but  the 
first  day's  travel  brought  on  another  attack,  and,  finding  it 
impossible  to  go  forward,  he  submitted  to  necessity,  and  was 
after  a  while  taken  to  the  house  of  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Wilkins, 
of  Baltimore.  Here  he  stayed  until  May  2,  when  the  General 
Conference  began  in  Baltimore. 

While  Bishop  McKendree  was  confined  to  his  bed,  between 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  he  received  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  his  venerated  and  beloved  colleague.  After  a  partial 
recovery  from  his  attack  near  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Bishop  Asbury 
came  by  easy  stages  to  Richmond,  Va.  There  (March  24)  he 
preached  his  last  sermon.  On  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday 
he  traveled,  being  very  intent  on  getting  to  the  General  Con- 
ference. He  got  to  the  house  of  his  old  friend,  Mr.  George 
Arnold  on  Friday  night,  about  twenty  miles  south  of  Freder- 
icksburg,  Va.  Rain  prevented  his  traveling  on  Saturday,  and 
on  Sunday  he  died. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  Bishop  Asbury's  death  was  con- 
sistent with  his  life.  "I  die  daily; I  live  in  God," had  been  his 
motto.  On  Saturday  afternoon,  hearing  his  faithful  and  never- 
to-be-forgotten  nurse,  John  Wesley  Bond,  talking  with  the 
family  about  having  preaching  next  day,  he  said:  "You  need 
not  be  in  haste."  This  excited  their  apprehensions,  for  they 
do  not  seem  to  have  anticipated  he  would  die  then.  Through 
the  ensuing  night  he  grew  worse,  but  refused  to  have  a  physician, 
saying  the  doctor  could  only  pronounce  him  dead.  Being 
asked  if  he  had  anything  to  communicate,  he  replied  that  having 
fully  expressed  his  mind  in  relation  to  the  Church,  in  his  address 
to  the  Bishop  and  the  General  Conference,  he  had  nothing  more 

iThis  was  in  answer  to  a  letter  from  the  British  Conference,  inviting  him 
to  visit  England. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  183 

to  add.  About  eleven  o'clock  on  Sabbath  morning  he  called  on 
Brother  Bond  to  sing,  pray,  and  expound  the  twenty-first 
chapter  of  Revelation,  and  appeared  calm  and  devout  during 
these  exercises.  When  he  could  no  longer  swallow  or  speak, 
seeing  the  distress  of  his  friends,  he  looked  joyfully  at  Brother 
Bond  and  raised  his  hand.  When  asked  if  he  then  felt  the 
victory  complete,  exerting  all  his  remaining  strength,  he  raised 
both  his  hands,  and  in  a  few  minutes  died  without  a  struggle 
or  a  groan,  as  a  weary  child  sinks  to  sleep  upon  its  mother's 
breast.  He  died  on  March  31,  1816. 

Thus  closed  the  earthly  career  of  a  man  who  had  spent  fifty- 
five  years  in  the  ministry— ten  in  Great  Britain  and  forty-five 
in  America — thirty- two  of  them  as  an  itinerant  bishop;  a  man 
who  had  traveled  in  the  United  States  more  miles,  preached 
more  sermons,  endured  more  hardships,  and  had  borne  heavier 
responsibilities  than  any  other  minister  in  America,  before  or 
since  his  time;  a  man  of  astonishing  sagacity,  and  whose  life 
was  "without  spot,  blemish,  or  any  such  thing."  He  was  a 
wise,  good,  and  great  man;  and  Methodism  in  America  is  more 
indebted  to  him  than  to  any  other  man.  Whether  viewed  as 
a  man,  a  Christian,  a  preacher,  or  a  bishop,  in  every  respect  he 
seems  to  have  been  as  nearly  perfect  as  frail  humanity  can  well 
be  on  earth.  But  we  are  not  writing  his  biography,  and  his 
life  is  his  eulogy. 

What  Moses  was  to  the  Church  in  the  wilderness,  as  its  leader 
and  counselor,  Asbury  was  to  American  Methodism.  In  meek- 
ness he  declined  the  honors  of  the  episcopacy  tendered  him  by 
Mr.  Wesley  until  urged  to  it  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  his 
brethren.  God  endued  him  with  wisdom  to  organize  and  rule 
the  infant  Church;  for  nearly  forty  years  he  was  its  unquestioned 
earthly  head.  But,  unlike  Moses,  he  lived  to  lead  the  tribes  of 
our  Israel  out  of  the  wilderness  and  to  see  them  settled  in  peace 
and  prosperity  over  a  vast  continent.  The  Jews  had  but  one 
Moses  and  American  Methodism  but  one  Asbury.  Surely 
"a  prince  and  a  great  man  in  Israel"  died  when  he  passed 
away.1 

1A.  description  of  Bishop  Asbury's  person,  as  he  appeared  in  the  first 
Conference  held  in  New  England,  in  1792,  and  the  delineation  of  his 
character,  by  Dr.  Stevens,  in  his  "  Memorials  of  Methodism,"  are  so 
beautiful  and  true  that  we  cannot  resist  the  inclination  to  quote  them: 

"  He  was  yet  short  of  fifty  years  of  age  and  in  the  maturity  of  his  physi- 
cal and  intellectual  strength.  His  person  was  slight,  but  vigorous  and 
erect;  his  eye,  stern  but  bright.  His  brow  began  to  show  those  wrinkles 


184  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

(the  effects  of  extraordinary  cares  and  fatigues)  which  afterwards  formed 
so  marked  a  feature  of  his  strongly  characteristic  face.  His  countenance 
was  expressive  of  decision,  energy,  sagacity,  benignity,  and  was  shaded  at 
times  by  an  aspect  of  deep  anxiety,  if  not  depression.  His  attitude  was 
dignified  and  graceful;  his  voice,  sonorous  and  commanding.  His  parallel 
for  practical  sense  and  practical  energy  can  scarcely  be  found.  As  a  ruler 
of  State  or  a  commander  of  armies,  he  would  have  ranked  among  the  great- 
est men  of  history.  We  will  venture  the  remark,  in  all  deliberation,  that 
if  ever  an  impartial  ecclesiastical  history  of  this  nation  be  written,  Francis 
Asbury,  as  well  for  his  personal  character  as  for  being  the  chief  founder  of 
its  largest  religious  organization,  will  occupy  a  position  in  it  above  the 
competition  of  any  other  name  whatsoever.  During  about  fifty  years  it 
is  estimated  that  besides  innumerable  public  exhortations  he  preached 
upon  an  average  about  one  sermon  a  day.  He  exceeded  even  Wesley  in  his 
travels,  averaging  more  than  six  thousand  miles  a  year.  The  extent  of  his 
journeys  during  his  ministry  of  forty-five  years  in  the  Uuited  States  alone 
was  equal,  upon  an  average,  to  the  circumference  ol  the  globe  every  four 
years,  and  this  by  private  conveyance,  over  the  worst  roads,  in  the  infancy 
of  the  nation.  During  the  last  thirty-two  years  of  this  life,  he  presided  in 
two  hundred  and  thirty-four  Annual  Conferences  and  ordained  about  four 
thousand  persons  in  the  traveling  or  local  ministry.  '  When  he  commenced 
his  labors  in  this  country,  there  were  about  six  hundred  members;  when 
he  fell,  it  was  victoriously  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and  twelve  thousand.'" 


CHAPTER  Xll 

Bishop  Asbury's  Valedictory — His  Birth — Death — Burial — Remains  re- 
moved to  Baltimore. 

THE  following  is  the  "Address  to  the  Bishop,"  referred  to  in 
Bishop  Asbury's  dying  words.  As  Paul  in  prison  addresses 
Timothy,  so  the  senior  addresses  his  junior  in  this  epistle.  It 
is  the  result  of  his  mature  reflection  after  much  study  and  long 
observation.  Some  things,  especially  toward  the  beginning, 
which  refer  merely  to  the  mode  of  carrying  out  his  plan,  he 
might  have  modified  had  he  foreseen  the  future,  but  as  a  whole 
it  needs  neither  apology  nor  explanation.  It  was  evidently 
designed  for  the  press,  and  after  having  been  most  carefully 
and  in  a  most  scholarly  manner  prepared  was  subscribed  by  his 
own  hand.  It  is  given  verbatim  et  literatim: 

A  VALEDICTORY  ADDRESS  TO  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE,  BISHOP  OP  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 
BY  FRANCIS  ASBURY. 

[Advertisement.] 

Speaking  to  the  Genesee  Annual  Conference  in  your  presence  on  the 
subject  of  apostolical,  missionary,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  govern- 
ment, I  was  desired  to  commit  my  thoughts  to  writing.  I  feel  the  more 
disposed  to  do  this,  that  I  may  leave  a  written  testimony  which  may  be 
seen,  read,  and  known  when  your  friend  and  father  is  taken  from  the  evil 
to  come. 

Sir:  My  advice  is  that  there  be  only  three  effective  bishops,  as  from 
the  beginning,  traveling  through  the  whole  continent,  each  one  to  preside 
alternately  in  all  the  Annual  Conferences,  one  to  preside  during  the  sitting  of 
the  same  Conference,  the  other  two  to  have  charge  of  and  plan  the  stations 
and  perform  ordinations,  assisted  by  the  elders  in  both  branches.  The 
plan  of  stations  should  be  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  Conferences,  in 
triune  order,  to  give  a  final  decision  before  it  is  read  out.  I  wish  to  warn 
you  against  the  growing  evil  of  locality  in  bishops,  elders,  preachers,  or 
Conferences.  Locality  is  essential  to  cities  and  towns,  but  traveling  is  as 
essential  to  the  country.  Were  I  to  name  cities,  such  as  Jerusalem,  Antioch, 
and  Rome,  with  all  the  great  cities,  both  ancient  and  modern,  what  havoc 
have  these  made  in  the  Churches!  Alas  for  us!  out  of  seven  hundred  trav- 
eling preachers,  we  have  about  one  hundred  located  in  towns  and  cities  and 
small  rich  circuits.  Guard  particularly  against  two  orders  of  preachers: 
the  one  for  the  country,  the  other  for  the  cities;  the  latter  generally  settle 
themselves  to  purchase  ministers,  and  too  often  men  of  gifts  and  learning 
intend  to  set  themselves  to  sale. 


186  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

I  am  bold  to  say  that  the  apostolic  order  of  things  was  lost  in  the  first 
century,  when  Church  governments  were  adulterated  and  had  much  cor- 
ruption attached  to  them.  At  the  Reformation,  the  reformers  only  beat 
off  a  part  of  the  rubbish,  which  put  a  stop  to  the  rapid  increase  of  absurd- 
ities at  that  time;  but  how  they  have  increased  since!  Recollect  the  state 
of  the  different  Churches,  as  it  respects  government  and  dicipline,  in  the 
seventeenth  century  when  the  Lord  raised  up  that  great  and  good  man, 
John  Wesley,  who  formed  an  evangelical  society  in  England.  In  1784,  an 
apostolical  form  of  Church  government  was  formed  in  the  United  States 
of  America  at  the  first  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  held  at  Baltimore,  in  the  State  of  Maryland. 

You  know,  my  brother,  that  the  present  ministerial  cant  is  that  we  can- 
not now,  as  in  former  apostolical  days,  have  such  doctrines,  such  dicipline, 
such  convictions,  such  conversions,  such  witnesses  of  santification,  and 
such  holy  men.  But  I  say  that  we  can;  I  say  we  must;  yea,  I  say  we  have. 
And  can  men  claim  the  rights  and  privileges  of  apostles  if  they  are  im- 
posters  and  not  true  ministers  of  the  holy  sanctuary?  Instead  of  going  to 
preach,  they  stay  to  preach.  Hence  it  is  that  schools,  colleges,  and  uni- 
versities undertake  to  make  men  ministers  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
never  commanded  to  be  made.  The  present  Episcopal  Churches  are 
greatly  independent  of  each  other.  All  the  numerous  orders  of  Presby- 
terians, Independents,  and  Baptists  are  also  local.  If  we  wish  to  see  pure 
and  unadulterated  Church  history,  let  us  go  to  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
and  mark  the  characters  of  those  ministers  in  the  time  of  persecution — 
such  as  Paul,  Timothy,  Titus,  Tychicus,  Archippus,  Trophimus,  Artemas, 
Luke,  Epaphroditus,  etc. — men  who  did  honor  to  themselves  as  ministers 
of  Christ.  But  there  are  too  many  the  opposite  of  these,  whom  we  can  view 
in  no  other  light,  at  present,  than  as  men  going  into  the  ministry  by  their 
learning,  sent  by  their  parents  or  moved  by  pride,  the  love  of  ease,  money, 
or  honor.  Are  not  such  moved  by  Satan  more  than  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
assume  the  sacred  office  of  the  holy  ministry?  Mark  well  what  a  situation 
the  apostles  were  in.  If  unfaithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  God 
would  condemn  and  punish  them  the  most  severely.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  people  were  ready  to  starve,  stone,  or  beat  them  to  death.  Modern 
priests  will  please  the  people,  that  they  may  not  be  starved  or  beaten;  but 
will  not  God  condemn  such  teachers  to  everlasting  destruction?  We  lay 
no  claim  to  the  Latin,  Greek,  English,  Lutheran,  Swedish,  or  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  order.  It  will  be  seen  that  we  are  so  unlike  them  that 
we  could  not  stand  as  related  to  them.  Would  their  bishops  ride  five  or 
six  thousand  miles  in  nine  months  for  eighty  dollars  a  year,  with  their  trav- 
eling expense  less  or  more,  preach  daily  when  opportunity  serves,  meet  a 
number  of  camp  meetings  in  the  year,  make  arrangements  for  stationing 
seven  hundred  preachers,  ordain  a  hundred  more  annually,  ride  through 
all  kinds  of  weather,  and  along  roads  in  the  worst  state,  at  our  time  of  life 
— the  one  sixty-nine,  the  other  in  his  fifty-sixth  year? 

When  the  Methodist  preachers  came  first  to  this  country,  one-half  of  the 
continent  was  overspread  with  different  names  and  orders  of  Presbyterians, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  187 

Independents,  Baptists,  English,  French,  German,  Holland,  Scotch,  and 
Irish,  with  many  Quakers.  In  the  Southern  part  were  Episcopalians. 
They  had  but  few  Churches  and  no  bishops.  At  this  time  the  Methodists 
were,  among  others,  not  organized  and  had  not  the  ordinances  among 
us.  As  some  in  pleasantry  said:  "We  were  a  Church,  and  no  Church." 
In  some  places  we  communed  with  the  Episcopalians.  In  1779,  some  of 
our  brethren  in  Virginia  attempted  to  organize  themselves  into  a  Church; 
but  in  1780,  the  writer  of  this  address  visited  them,  when  they  agreed  to 
suspend  their  administration,  and  with  united  voice  call  upon  Mr.  Wesley 
to  make  some  provision  for  them.  Accordingly,  in  1784,  our  faithful  fa- 
ther, Mr.  Wesley,  ordained  Thomas  Coke,  bishop,  or  general  superintencj,- 
ent,  and  Francis  Asbury  was  elected  by  the  General  Conference  held  in 
Baltimore,  Md.,  December,  1784,  general  superintendent;  was  first  or- 
dained deacon  and  elder;  on  December  27,  bishop,  or  general  superintend- 
ent; Richard  Whatcoat  in  May,  1800;  and  William  McKendree  in  May, 
1808.  Dr.  Coke  was  ordained  deacon  and  elder  by  two  scriptural  English 
bishops,  and  so  was  John  Wesley.  Do  any  ancient  or  modern  Churches 
stand  any  better  ground  than  we  do  with  respect  to  ordination,  with  John 
Wesley's  apostolic  right?  Probably  Paul  was  ordained  with  Barnabas. 
(Acts  xiii.  1-3.) 

Should  any  ask  why  we  did  not  seek  ordination  from  other  Churches, 
we  answer  them  by  asking  if  we  should  go  to  local  men  to  be  ordained  trav- 
eling bishops.  Should  we  go  to  Presbyterians  to  be  ordained  Episcopal 
Methodists?  or  to  Episcopalians,  who  at  that  time  had  no  bishop  or  power 
of  ordination  in  the  United  States  till  application  was  made  to  the  British 
Parliament,  and  that  legislative  body  passed  a  law  for  the  express  purpose 
authorizing  their  bishops  to  consecrate  and  ordain  bishops  for  the  thirteen 
States  of  America,  in  1785?  Here  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  Methodist 
was  the  first  Church  organized  after  the  establishment  of  peace  in  1783, 
and  that  the  Protestant  Episcopalians  were  not  organized  as  a  Church 
until  after  there  was  a  law  passed  by  the  British  Parliament.  Or  could 
we  subscribe  to  Calvinian  articles?  Surely,  no.  Or  could  we  submit  to 
locality?  By  no  means.  Let  local  men  ordain  local  men,  baptize  or  rebap- 
tize  local  men;  we  must  shape  our  course  otherwise  and  prepare  to  meet 
the  different  Annual  Conferences  from  Maine  to  Georgia  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  to  retain  all  the  ancient  essential  branches  of  Methodism  in 
all  its  parts  and  try  sacredly  to  maintain  our  traveling  plan  and  support 
a  true  missionary,  apostolic  Church.  And  suppose  this  excellent  consti- 
tution and  order  of  things  should  be  broken,  what  shall  the  present  or 
future  bishops  do?  Let  them  do  as  your  noble  countryman1  did — resign 
and  retire  to  private  life. 

It  is  a  serious  thing  for  a  bishop  to  be  stripped  of  any  constitutional 
rights  chartered  to  him  at  his  ordination,  without  which  he  could  not  and 
would  not  have  entered  into  that  sacred  office,  he  being  conscious  at  the 
same  time  he  had  never  violated  those  sacred  rights.  Comparing  human 
Church  history  with  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  it  will  manifestly  appear 

'George  Washington. 


18S  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McRendree 

that  the  apostolic  order  of  things  ended  in  about  fifty  years.  With  the 
preachers  and  people  of  that  day,  the  golden  order  was  lost.  But  we  must 
restore  and  retain  primitive  order;  we  must,  we  will,  have  the  same  doc- 
trine, the  same  spirituality,  the  same  power  in  ordinances,  in  ordination, 
and  in  spirit. 

Joseph  Pilmoor  had  been  but  a  short  time  on  his  mission  to  this  country 
before  he  saw  that  it  would  not  be  proper  for  the  Methodists  to  continue 
an  Episcopal  society.  He  was  for  forming  an  independent  Church  of 
England.  Mr.  Wesley  was  called  for  near  twelve  or  thirteen  years,  repeat- 
edly, to  do  something  for  his  people  in  America.  Dr.  Whitehead  reproached 
Mr.  Wesley,  in  writing  his  "Life,"  for  odaining  preachers  in  America, 
unless  he  had  the  voice  of  preachers  and  people  in  America;  yet,  if  my 
memory  serves  me  right,  the  Doctor  grants  Mr.  Wesley's  right  so  to  do  if 
he  had  had  their  voice;  and  this  he  most  assuredly  had,  and  it  had  been 
communicated  to  him  by  word  and  letter;  or  why  did  every  heart  leap  with 
joy  and  the  members  of  society  and  the  congregations  in  America  embrace 
our  Church  form  and  order  and  by  thousands  giving  up  themselves  to  the 
ordinances  and  presenting  their  children  for  baptism  for  nearly  thirty 
years  last  past? 

You  have  often  heard  me  say  that  Church  governments  changed  with 
the  Church  into  strange,  incredible  forms — as  monarchy,  aristocracy, 
democracy,  and  legal  establishments— when  scholars,  lawyers,  doctors, 
and  peers  became  bishops  and  bishops  became  kings,  temporal  princes, 
and  peers,  and  presbyters  became  assemblymen  and  senators;  in  this 
country  they  become  chapains  to  Congress;  yes,  members  of  Congress!  It 
will  come  to  this  conclusion,  that  ours  is  the  apostolic  plan.  But  say  you, 
Are  all  apostles?  Are  all  that  we  have  ordained  holy  men?  They  might 
have  been.  Were  Judas,  Simon  Magnus,  and  Demas  faithful  unto  death? 
Ministers  may  fall  from  grace  and  office;  and  no  wonder  if  we,  on  ordaining 
four  thousand  local  and  nearly  two  thousand  traveling,  preachers,  should 
find  some  to  turn  out  apostates. 

Thus  I  have  traced  regular  order  and  succession  in  John  Wesley,  Thomas 
Coke,  Francis  Asbury,  Richard  Whatcoat,  and  William  McKendree.  Let 
any  other  Church  trace  its  succession  as  direct  and  as  pure,  if  they  can. 
Does  any  one  doubt  the  experience,  piety,  or  labors  of  these  men,  so  long 
tried,  known,  and  read  of  all  men,  both  friends  and  enemies,  for  so  many 
years? 

William  P.  Otterbein,  of  Baltimore,  a  regular  Presbyterian — the  Ger- 
man apostle  to  America — whose  piety,  labors,  and  learning  were  great, 
this  man  of  God  assisted  T.  Coke,  R.  Whatcoat,  and  T.  Vasey  in  the  or- 
dination of  Francis  Asbury.  You  will  say  if  our  Church  were  as  pure  as 
the  primitive  Church,  will  it  not,  may  it  not,  like  other  modern,  decline? 
I  answer,  We  live  in  a  purer  age  and  in  a  free  country.  If  discipline  be 
maintained,  men  that  carry  sand  instead  of  salt  for  the  sheep  will  be  con- 
strained soon  to  leave  us,  to  join  some  more  honorable,  but  perhaps  fallen, 
Church  where  they  can  have  more  ease  and  greater  emoluments.  We 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  189 

have  lived  to  see  the  end  of  such  persons  who  left  us  and  set  up  for  them- 
selves— witness  Hammet  and  O'Kelly. 

Thomas  Haweis,  a  moderate  Episcopalian,  fifty  years  a  beneficed  min- 
ister, is  one  of  the  most  impartial  historians  on  the  subject  of  episcopacy. 
I  shall  chose  this  address  with  several  quotations  from  his  work,  wherein 
you  will  see  that  he,  without  knowledge  or  design,  has  given  the  order  of 
Episcopal  Methodism  the  plume  of  honor  above  all  others: 

"  From  the  morning  spread  upon  the  mountains  to  the  meridian  splen- 
dor of  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  I  wish  to  trace  the  progress  of  his  gospel 
amidst  the  storms  of  persecution,  till  his  glory  shall  be  finally  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 
Contemptuous  infidelity,  proud  philosophy,  bigoted  superstition,  athe- 
istical immorality,  heretical  and  schismatical  depravity,  may  unite  their 
powers  against  the  child  Jesus  and  his  everlasting  gospel,  but  the  gates  of 
hell  shall  never  prevail.  His  persecuted  Church  shall  rise.  I  have  con- 
tinued to  prefer  an  episcopal  mode  of  Church  government,  unless  I  can 
find  a  better.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  Methodist  mode  of  episcopal  govern- 
ment is  more  apostolic  than  the  Church  of  England  ever  was,  will,  or  can 
be,  without  a  radical  reformation  from  its  essential  form  of  locality, 
written  sermons  and  prayers,  State  laws,  and  human  policy."  (Vol.  I,  p.  12, 
of  his  Introduction.) 

"  When  I  speak  of  episcopacy  as  most  correspondent  in  my  poor  idea  to 
the  apostolic  practice  and  general  usage  of  the  Church  in  the  first  and  gen- 
erally esteemed  purer  ages,  let  no  man  imagine  I  plead  for  that  episcopacy 
which,  rising  very  early  on  the  stilts  of  practical  pride  and  worldly-mind- 
edness,  has  since  overspread  the  earth  with  its  baneful  shadow;  or  suppose 
those  to  be  true  successors  of  the  apostles  who,  grasping  at  power  and  pre- 
eminence over  Churches  which  their  labors  never  planted  nor  watered, 
claiming  dominion  over  districts,  provinces,  and  kingdoms  beyond  all 
power  of  individual  superintendency."  (P.  14.) 

Here,  Bishop,  mark:  "  Planted  or  watered."  We  have  planted  and  wa- 
tered; although  our  continent  is  three  thousand  miles  in  length,  we  have 
measured  it  year  after  year,  embracing  fifty-one  or  two  districts,  about 
six  hundred  circuits,  and  nine  Annual  Conferences,  all  which,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  we  have  visited.  Then,  according  to  our  author,  we  are 
apostolic  bishops;  for  we  have  both  planted  and  watered,  and  do  water 
still.  As  to  temporal  power,  what  have  we  to  do  with  that  in  this  country? 
We  are  not  senators,  congressmen,  or  chaplains;  neither  do  we  hold  any 
civil  offices.  We  neither  have,  nor  wish  to  have,  anything  to  do  with  the 
government  of  the  States,  nor,  as  I  conceive,  do  the  States  fear  us.  Our 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  For  near  half  a  century  we  have  nevei 
grasped  at  power. 

"All  united  in  one  Church  fellowship  [so  the  Methodists]  under  the 
superintendency  of  apostolic  men  at  first  and  on  their  decease,  the  most 
distinguished  for  zeal,  wisdom,  sufferings,  influence,  or  respectability  of 
any  kind,  was  called  by  the  suffrage  of  the  elders  and  people  to  be  their 
superintendent,  president,  prxses;  hegoumenoe,  a  leader;  and  thus  the 


190  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

name  of  bishop  (kat'  exoehen),  on  account  of  preeminence,  became  very 
early  appropriate  to  one  who  was  primus  inter  pares;  and,  as  Archbishop 
Usher  says,  differed  only  in  degree  of  advantagement  and  not  in  order. 
These  were,  I  apprehend,  always  from  the  apostolic  days  raised  to  their 
station  by  the  voice  of  the  people  and  their  fellows.  They  preside  in  the 
deliberations  of  their  several  Churches,  with  the  presbyters,  their  assessors. 
They  were  deputed  to  all  synods  which  treated  of  ecclesiastical  matters; 
and  whilst  every  congregation  judged  its  own  members,  they  received  the 
accusations  against  elders  who  were  charged  with  offenses  and  censured 
or  removed  them.  They  examined  the  chosen  candidates  for  the  ministry, 
and,  with  the  presbyter,  ordained  them  by  imposition  of  hands.  This 
dangerous  eminence  marked  them  as  peculiar  victims  in  days  of  perse- 
cution. Far,  therefore,  from  being  an  enviable  or  desirable  situation,  no 
man  dare  to  aspire  after  or  occupy  it  but  such  as  counted  their  lives  not 
dear  unto  themselves,  that  they  'might  finish  their  course  with  joy,  and 
the  ministry  which  they  had  received  from  the  Lord  to  fulfill  it,'  whether 
as  confessors  or  martyrs."  (P.  16.) 

"  The  sudden  ability  of  illiterate  men  of  so  great  a  number  in  a  moment, 
and  with  perfection,  to  speak  in  all  languages,  to  express  themselves  with 
such  propriety  and  force  as  not  only  to  be  clearly  understood,  but 
impressive  on  the  consciences  of  the  numerous  foreigners  then  at  Jerusalem 
from  every  nation  under  heaven,  such  a  phenomenon  could  not  but  strike 
the  hearers  with  astonishment  and  afford  an  evidence  of  divine  agency  too 
incontestible  to  admit  of  a  rational  doubt."  (P.  28.) 

Now,  Bishop  McKendree,  I  will  make  this  remark,  that  to  take  this 
transaction  of  the  Divine  Spirit  prophetically,  it  saith  to  every  minister, 
"Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature;"  and 
that  in  all  ages  to  come,  unlettered  men  should  be  raised  up  to  preach  the 
gospel  with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  One  may 
say,  This  man  speaks  well! — ah,  he  is  a  college-taught  man!  Again  it  may 
be  said,  This  man  speaks  well;  he  is  a  scholar!  But  you  are  mistaken.  He 
has  only  a  common  education — a  plowman,  a  tailor,  a  carpenter,  or  a 
a  shoemaker!  Then  he  must  be  taught  of  God,  if  he  is  not  taught  of  man. 
Then  we  may  rationally  conclude  that  learning  is  not  an  essential  quali- 
fication to  preach  the  gospel.  It  may  be  said  no  man  but  a  fool  will  speak 
against  learning.  I  have  not  spoken  against  learning.  I  have  only  said  that 
it  cannot  be  said  to  be  an  essential  qualification  to  preach  the  gospel.  It 
was  once  reported  that  two  impostors  (Roman  priests)  came  to  England, 
entered  themselves  as  porters  or  draymen,  but  said  they  had  received  the 
gift  of  tongues  and  were  called  to  preach.  But  Dr.  Doddridge,  being  in 
the  city,  was  requested  to  examine  them  and  found  they  were  scholars; 
but  when  he  examined  them  in  Welsh,  the  cheat  was  found  out.  And  too 
often  the  learned  priests  deceive  the  people  by  their  learning,  or  professing 
so  to  be;  because  the  first  preachers  were  blest  with  the  gift  of  tongues 
immediately  from  heaven;  so  that  a  man  must  spend  four  or  seven  years 
in  learning  languages  before  he  is  permitted  to  preach  the  gospel.  And 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  191 

who  is  to  decide  the  question?  Their  practice  and  that  of  our  Lord  does 
not  strictly  agree. 

But  to  our  author.  "  The  Church  at  Jerusalem  seems  to  have  been  under 
the  presidency  of  the  Apostle  James.  The  great  luminary  was  now  rising 
to  carry  the  light  of  the  everlasting  gospel  into  the  heathen  nations  and 
to  display  a  scene  of  labors  and  successes  unequaled  in  the  records  of  the 
Christian  Church.  The  greater  part  of  the  Acts  contain  the  account  of 
his  (Paul's)  life  and  labors,  recorded  by  his  faithful  attendant  and  com- 
panion in  the  work,  Luke  the  Evangelist.  Paul  stands  allowedly  in  the 
first  ranks  of  eminence,  in  nothing  behind  the  very  chief  of  the  apostles, 
whilst  the  generality  of  the  others  were  out  of  the  lowest  orders  of  society 
(agrammatoi  kai  tidiotai),  unlettered  or  private  and  laymen  (Acts  iv.  13). 
men  of  no  literary  acquirements.  Paul  seems  to  have  been  born  in  the 
superior  rank  of  life."  (Pp.  30,  31,  33.) 

Thus  not  many  wise  or  rich  men  of  the  earth,  in  the  past  as  well  as  the 
present  age,  have  obeyed  the  call  of  the  gospel. 

"He  (Paul)  flew  as  with  the  wings  of  a  seraph  over  the  habitable  globe; 
and  the  vastness  of  his  success  corresponded  with  the  rapidity  of  his  move- 
ments and  the  indefatigable  labors  of  his  ministry.  From  Damascus  to 
Arabia,  Judea,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  round  about  Illyricum,  he 
had  fully  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Returning  with  the  same  un- 
wearied diligence  to  visit  all  the  Churches  his  ministry  had  planted,  he 
received  a  divine  intimation  that  he  must  shortly  visit  Italy  also.  And  he 
extended  his  views  into  Spain.  An  eye  (geographical)  cast  over  this  im- 
mense tract  of  country  will  fill  us  with  astonishment,  how  one  man's  labor 
could  fill  so  extensive  a  sphere,  and  demonstrates  how  much  may  be  done 
when  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  animates  and  the  benedictions  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
accompany  the  Word  with  power  and  much  assurance.  There  is  one 
particular  I  may  not  forget  and  which  we  Gentiles  are  bound  to  acknowl- 
edge with  peculiar  thankfulness,  that  he  is  our  apostle.  A  ministry  of 
more  than  thirty  years  was  terminated,  it  is  probable,  by  martyrdom." 
(Pp.  36,  37.) 

"I  regard  Paul  as  the  first  of  human  beings,  to  whom  more  are  indebted 
for  salvation,  under  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  than  to  any  other  crea- 
ture. If  his  labors  and  preaching,  as  recorded,  be  taken  into  the  account, 
if  we  consider  his  Epistles  to  the  several  Churches — the  inestimably  blessed 
effects  of  which  must  be  felt  and  acknowledged  in  all  Churches  to  the  end 
of  time."  (P.  38.) 

"  It  seems  to  have  been  a  matter  decided  by  the  Church  respecting  the 
two  itinerant  apostles  that  Paul  should  go  to  the  Gentiles  and  Peter  to  the 
circumcision.  I  suppose  there  was  great  wisdom  herein  displayed." 
(P.  40.) 

"A  multitude  of  worthies  have  their  names  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  whose  itinerant  labors,  with  those  of  Paul,  had  the  most  powerful 
tendency  to  spread  the  Christian  faith."  (P.  47.) 

"A  Church  without  evidence  of  the  influence  and  experience  of  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  but  a  name  to  live  and  is  dead,  and  whatever 


192  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

may  be  its  forms,  or  however  sound  its  confession  of  faith,  it  hath  no 
more  title  to  be  reckoned  a  Christian  Church  than  a  statue  or  corpse  to  be 
esteemed  a  living  man.  The  form  in  which  the  Church  appeared  in  the 
best,  the  primitive  age,  under  the  immediate  inspection  of  the  apostles 
and  disciples  of  the  Lord,  deserves  our  consideration.  And  here,  drawing 
around  me  the  sacred  circle,  I  wish  to  confine  myself  to  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  without  any  regard  to  the  traditions  of  men.  And  I  shall  be- 
gin at  Jerusalem.  This  was  the  fruitful  womb  from  whence  issued  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs,  confessors,  and  evangelists,  who,  holding  up  the 
word  of  light,  diffused  the  blessings  of  the  glory  of  God  the  Saviour  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth.  These  were  the  fruits  of  our  Lord's  ministry  during  his 
labors  in  Judea  and  the  adjacent  countries.  They  consisted  of  twelve  men, 
first  chosen,  called  apostles,  or  persons  sent.  To  these  were  added  seventy 
others,  who  were  sent  out  to  preach  and  teach.  They  were  all  endowed 
with  miraculous  powers;  and  on  their  return  from  their  itinerancy  through 
the  nation,  reported  with  triumph  the  wonders  they  had  wrought.  About 
five  hundred  brethren  were  summoned  to  behold  our  Lord's  ascension  into 
heaven."  (P.  52.) 

"Three  thousand  believed  on  the  first  day  (Pentecost),  and  myriads 
followed  them.  The  immensity  of  this  number  affords  us  two  views  of 
their  Church  order:  First,  as  necessarily  distributed  into  various  congre- 
gations, no  one  place  being  capable  of  containing  such  myriads  or  any  one 
bishop  or  elder  sufficient  to  administer  the  ordinances  among  them.  We 
accordingly  find  them  breaking  bread  from  house  to  house  (Acts  ii.  46), 
preaching  and  teaching  in  every  house  (Acts  v.  42),  which  seems  to  de- 
scribe the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  Second,  these  several  house  Churches 
formed  one  united  Church  body  under  the  presidency  of  James,  and  not 
Peter.  (Acts  xv.  13.)  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  first  council.  To  him  Paul 
addressed  himself  (Acts  xxi.  18)  when  all  the  elders  or  presbyters  being  as- 
sembled by  him  he  reported  to  them  the  happy  success  of  his  ministry 
among  the  Gentiles.  The  necessity  of  a  president  where  so  great  a  number 
of  elders  resided  and  so  many  congregations  were  formed  seems  as  natural 
for  the  preservation  of  order  as  it  appears  actually  the  case  in  this  mother 
of  all  the  Churches."  (Pp.  54, 55.) 

"The  care  of  the  poor  widows  led  to  the  institution  of  the  order  of  dea- 
cons. This  originated  in  a  complaint  of  real  or  supposed  partiality  in  the 
distribution  of  the  alms  of  the  faithful  to  the  native  Jewish  widows,  in 
preference  to  the  Hellenists.  (Acts  vi.  1.)  The  apostles  themselves  being 
too  much  engaged  to  attend  to  these  temporal  concerns,  recommended  it 
to  the  Church  to  elect  seven  persons  for  the  discharge  of  this  office.  These 
were  accordingly  chosen  by  general  suffrage,  not  for  each  separate  con- 
gregation, but  for  the  whole  body,  and  were  set  apart  by  the  apostles 
after  solemn  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands,  to  this  service.  Though  the 
care  of  the  widows  was  immediately  intrusted  to  them,  it  prevented  them 
not  from  being  employed  in  other  labors  of  love.  Philip  was  an  evangelist 
and  Stephen  a  like  zealous  advocate  of  Christ  and  his  cause.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  boldness  in  the  synagogue  of  the  Libertines,  the  blood  of  this 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  193 

first  martyr  was  shed  by  the  fury  of  his  enemies,  and  a  great  and  general  per- 
secution following,  all  the  principal  disciples  were  dispersed  except  the 
apostles  who  remained  at  Jerusalem.  (Acts  viii.  1.)  These,  flying  in 
different  directions,  everywhere  preached  the  gospel  and  with  great  success 
through  Judea,  Galilee,  and  Samaria,  and  some  as  far  as  Antioch,  Damas- 
cus, Phenice,  and  Cypress.  They  were  village  preachers,  highway  preach- 
ers, and  were  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Paul  (Acts  xxiv.  23), 
in  revisiting  the  Churches  which  had  been  planted  principally  by  himself, 
edifies,  comforts,  and  establishes  them  by  ordaining  elders  in  every  Church 
with  prayers  and  fasting."  (P.  56.) 

"Returning  through  Pisidia  and  Attalia,  they  arrived  happily  at 
Antioch,  communicating  the  glad  tidings  of^their  success  and  of  the  Gentile 
Churches  which  they  had  planted.  I  can  only  observe  here  that  I  find  in 
all  these  widely  dispersed  and  numerous  congregations  no  mention  made 
of  any  appointment  but  that  of  presbyters,  all  cemented  in  one  bond  of 
union  under  the  supervisal  of  the  great  itinerant  evangalists."  (P.  62.) 

And  so  it  should  have  continued,  and  would  have  continued,  if  there 
had  been  a  succession  of  a  faithful  seed  of  holy  men  to  follow  apostolic 
order,  but  as  early  as  the  second  century  they  must  have  their  local  bishops 
or  local  apostles. 

"Though  James  was  not  superior  to  Peter  or  the  other  apostles  at  Jeru- 
salem [he  may  mean  he  was  not  superior  as  to  age,  gifts,  or  standing,  but 
certainly  he  was  superior,  inasmuch  as  he  had  never  so  publicly  denied  his 
Lord],  he  had  been  evidently  appointed  to  fill  the  place  of  president,  or 
primus  inter  pares.  Yet  neither  he  nor  any  of  his  apostolic  associates 
assumed  to  themselves  authority  to  decide  but  by  the  suffrage  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  Church  under  immediate  divine  direction."  (P.  63.) 

Our  Annual,  or  more  particularly  our  General,  Conference  resembles 
this  grand  council  at  Jerusalem,  where  James  presided  and  all  the  other 
apostles,  elders,  and  brethren  solemnly  discussed  the  cause  or  causes  be- 
fore them,  and  James  pronounced  sentence  according  to  the  unanimous 
suffrage  of  the  assembly,  and  the  definitive  decree  was  in  favor  of  Gentile 
liberty. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  separated  for  a  while  (Acts  xv.  39) ;  but  probably  God 
overruled  this  for  good,  and  perhaps  the  Churches  were  more  profited  by 
their  distinct  labors  than  if  they  had  traveled  in  company. 

Dr.  Haweis  continues:  "It  is  evident  that  Timothy  was  still  but  a 
youth  (ch.  iv.  14),  and  whatever  office  he  sustained  or  with  whatever  gifts 
he  was  endued  he  received  them  by  the  laying  on  of  Paul's  hands  and  of 
the  presbytery.  (1  Tim.  iv.  14.)  Did  presbyters  then  ordain  bishops,  or 
were  the  terms  synonymous?  "  Query,  Had  there  not  been  two  distinct 
acts  in  his  ordination?  Compare  1  Timothy  iv.  14,  and  2  Timothy  i.  6: 
"  The  laying  on  the  hands  of  the  presbytery,  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  which 
is  in  thee,  by  the  putting  on  of  my  hands."  "That  Timothy  was  left  at 
Ephesus  with  superintending  authority,  where  there  were  many  bishops, 
is  evident.  (1  Tim.  i.  3.)  He  was  enjoined  to  encourage  and  honor 
those  who  presided  over  the  congregations  well,  and  especially  such  as 
13 


194  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

were  more  actively  laborious  in  preaching  and  catechising.  (V.  18.)  Re- 
specting hands,  he  was  to  lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man;  and,  without 
partiality  or  personal  respect,  he  was  to  admit  none  into  the  ministry 
but  after  proper  examination  and  conviction  of  their  call  and  qualifica- 
tions. He  was  also  cautiously  to  receive  and  weigh  accusations  against 
elders  who  should  give  offense  and  pronounce  the  sentence  due  to  their 
unfaithfulness,  acts  strongly  marking  superior  jurisdiction,and  I  hence 
infer  that  particular  Churches  neither  ordained  nor  censured  their  own 
ministers,  althouh  they  elected  and  recommended;  and,  if  faulty,  accused 
them  by  two  or  three  witnesses  before  the  great  itinerant  evangelists." 
(P.  76.) 

Mark  well  the  similarity  of  apostolic  order  and  government  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  form  of  things! 

In  the  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  Paul  appears  to  have  "returned 
again  to  the  house  of  his  prison  at  Rome,  and  ready  to  be  offered  up  on  the 
altar  of  martyrdom.  He  had  detached  his  faithful  itinerant  helpers  to  a 
variety  of  services  [although  a  prisoner,  yet  clothed  with  the  authority  of 
Christ,  he  appointed  men  of  God  their  work],  Cresens,  to  Galatia;  Titus, 
to  Dalmatia;  while  Timothy  himself  had  been  left  in  Asia,  from  whence  he 
was  shortly  to  proceed  to  Rome  with  Mark,  who  had  once  departed  from 
the  work,  but  had  now  returned  to  the  labors  and  dangers  of  itinerancy. 
The  principal  subject  of  the  Epistle  is  the  dying  charge  of  the  great  apostle 
to  his  beloved  son  respecting  his  own  teaching  and  conduct  and  worthy 
the  attentive  consideration  of  every  bishop  or  presbyter  upon  earth."  (See 
P.  77.) 

Paul's  two  favored  sons,  Timothy  and  Titus,  were  his  chief  companions, 
and  greatly  employed  in  the  regulation  of  the  congregations  which  had 
been  raised  by  his  labors.  The  postscript  of  his  first  Epistle  calls  Timothy 
the  first  bishop  of  the  Church  of  the  Ephesians;  but  there  is  no  such  title 
given  him  by  Paul  or  any  intimation  of  his  being  at  Ephesus  but  as  one  of 
the  great  itinerant  evangelists,  the  companion  of  Paul  and  deputed  by  him 
to  assist  in  bringing  the  congregations  into  a  regular  order  of  worship  and 
discipline. 

"It  nowhere  appears  that  Titus  was  more  the  Bishop  of  Crete  than  of 
Dalmatia  (2  Tim.  iv.  10)  or  of  Nicopolis  (Titus  iii.  2)  or  had  any  fixed 
residence  or  diocese,  he  being  one  of  the  great  itinerant  evangelists  who 
went  about  preaching  everywhere  in  season,  out  of  season.  And  there- 
fore as  soon  as  he  had  settled  the  Cretan  Church  in  the  most  edifying 
manner,  he  was  ordered  to  come  and  winter  with  Paul  at  Nicopclis,  and 
Artemas  or  Tychicus  should  be  dispatched  to  fill  his  place  in  the  Cretan 
congregations. 

"A  general  superiority  in  all  the  Churches  which  they  visited  appears  to 
have  been  exercised  by  these  great  evangelists,  though  none  appears  sta- 
tionary in  any  one  place.  They  ordained,  censured,  regulated,  were  the 
cementing  bond  of  union  to  the  different  Churches  [so  should  the  Method- 
ist bishops  be],  maintaining  a  unity  of  order  and  procedure  through  the 
whole.  They  all  bore  the  name  of  apostles  (2  Cor.  viii.  23),  were  every- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  195 

where  received  with  reverence  and  obeyed  with  filial  affection.  ['If  any 
inquire  of  Titus,  he  is  my  partner  and  fellow  helper  concerning  you;  or 
our  brethren  be  inquired  of,  they  are  the  messengers  of  the  Churches  and 
the  glory  of  Christ.']  They  assumed  no  domain  over  their  faith,  but 
were  helpers  of  the  joy  of  the  faithful  wherever  they  went.  The  gifts,  abil- 
ities, and  zeal  which  they  displayed,  with  every  divine  temper  which  adorns 
the  Christian  ministry,  could  not  but  give  them  weight  and  procure  them 
influence  by  whatever  name  they  might  be  distinguished,  and  in  every 
Christian  Church,  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  such  men  must  possess  su- 
periority, whatever  be  its  constitution.  Even  where  the  most  absolute 
parity  is  established,  to  these  their  fellows  naturally  give  place.  They  are 
the  presidents  in  all  associations;  heard  with  respect,  commanding  obe- 
dience; capable  of  awaying  the  decisions  of  their  brethren;  consulted  in  all 
difficult  cases,  and  placed  foremost  in  the  hour  of  danger.  To  them  is 
intrusted  the  care  of  eleemosynary  distributions  for  the  benefit  of  the  body 
to  which  they  belong,  and  in  private  and  public  all  concede  to  them  the 
seal  of  honor."  (P.  78.) 

If  the  elders  that  rule  well  are  worthy  of  double  honor,  then  the  bishops 
that  rule  well  must  be  worthy  of  triple  honor,  especially  when  they  do  so 
large  a  part  of  ruling,  preaching,  and  presiding  in  Conferences. 

"In  the  primitive  Church  [in  speaking  or  writing,  it  was  common  to 
consolidate  the  first  Churches  into  one,  although  they  consisted  of  many 
societies,  so  we  say  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church],  this  superiority, 
was  vested  in  the  apostles  and  their  companions,  the  great  itinerant  evan- 
gelists, Barnabas,  Silas,  Artemas,  Tychicus,  Trophimus,  Titus,  Timothy, 
and  many  others,  chief  men  among  the  brethren."  (P.  79.) 

Notwithstanding  all  these  were  great  men  in  the  Church  of  God,  yet, 
as  we  have  seen,  none  of  them  were  writers.  The  Epistle  to  Titus  bears 
some  resemblance  to  that  to  Timothy.  Men  placed  in  similar  situations 
were  called  to  act  under  the  same  principles  and  to  employ  the  same 
means.  If  we  are  willing,  here  we  may  see  the  propriety  of  our  superin- 
tendency,  presiding  elders,  as  in  the  second  part  of  the  primitive  Church, 
which  order  was  lost  in  the  first  and  not  found  again  until  the  seven- 
teenth century,  partially  in  Europe  but  more  perfectly  in  America  in  the 
organization  and  establishment  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"  I  conclude,  as  soon  as  a  little  society  was  formed  of  Christians,  a  room 
was  opened  for  their  assembling  and  the  most  apt  to  teach  appointed  to 
minister  to  them  in  holy  things.  [Perhaps  not  unlike  a  class  leader  and 
local  preacher  in  one.]  He  was  a  man  of  gravity,  generally  of  the  more 
aged,  approved  by  his  fellows  and  willing  to  devote  himself  to  their  service. 
His  appointment  was  signified  by  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  or  some  of  the  itinerant  evangelists  and  the  presbytery,  and 
without  this  I  meet  no  ordination.  Every  Church  [that  is,  every  society] 
exercised  discipline  over  its  own  members,  to  admit,  admonish,  or  expel. 
Before  these  itinerating  evangelists  all  accusations  against  offending 
esbyters  were  brought.  [These  evangelists  seem  not  to  have  been  sta- 


196  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tionary,  but  to  have  gone  about  everywhere,  chiefly  under  the  direction 
of  the  Apostle  Paul.] 

"These  evangelists  were  usually  supported  by  the  Churches  [or  societies] 
but  often,  like  Paul,  maintained  themselves  by  their  own  labors.  During 
the  first  ages,  the  ministry  was  not  appropriated  to  gentlemen  or  scholars. 
No  man  was  bred  to  it  as  a  profession  or  went  into  it  for  a  maintenance. 
They  were  pastors  of  a  different  stamp.  The  stationary  presbyters,  or 
bishops,  during  the  lives  of  the  apostle  and  his  associate  evangelists,  were 
under  their  superintendency.  But  it  will  appear  very  early  in  the  second 
century,  when  the  first  race  of  great  itinerants  departed  [or  were  slain  for 
the  testimony  of  Jesus],  that  one  among  the  ministers  in  every  place 
began  to  have  the  name  of  bishop  (kaf  exochen)  on  account  of  preeminency, 
with  presbyters,  hjs  coadjutors,  acting  with  him  as  one  body."  (Pp.  86, 87.) 

This  leads  me  to  conclude  that  there  were  no  local  bishops  until  the 
second  century;  that  the  apostles,  in  service,  were  bishops,  and  that  those 
who  were  ordained  in  the  second  century  mistook  their  calling  when  they 
became  local  and  should  have  followed  those  bright  examples  in  the  apos- 
tolic age.  I  am  not  under  the  difficulties  that  some  are  respecting  the 
same  men  who  were  ordained  elders  being  called  sometimes  bishops,  I  am 
not  sure  that  what  was  written  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  that  they  themselves 
must  be  blameless  as  bishops,  or  overseers,  excluded  them  from  being  evangel- 
ists. As  to  those  at  Ephtesus  who  were  elders  in  office,  they  were  in  charge 
and  duty  overseers.  In  some  sense  among  us  every  leader  of  a  class,  every 
local  preacher,  traveling  preacher,  and  every  officer  in  the  Church  may 
be  called  an  overseer.  Bishops,  presbyters,  and  deacons,  seem  to  have 
been  the  established  form  in  all  the  Asiatic  Churches  in  the  second  century. 

"  Hitherto  not  a  man  eminent  for  science  or  letters  had  appeared  in  the 
Church.  All  those  whose  works  have  come  down  to  us  bear  a  stamp  of 
simplicity  divested  of  human  attainments.  Yet  by  these  the  gospel  had 
been  supported  in  its  purity,  afforded  a  noble  army  of  martyrs,  and  been 
spread  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  from  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  to  the  Par- 
thians,  from  the  savage  nations  of  the  North  to  the  Indies  and  Abyssinia." 
(P.  146.) 

"  Considering  the  time  and  regarding  the  persons  called  to  be  saints,  a 
learned  ministry  cannot  be  supposed  in  the  primitive  Church.  The  presby- 
ters have  been,  in  general,  men  simple  and  unlettered,  though  full  of  faith 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  qualifications  which  then  determined  the  suffrage 
of  the  several  flocks.  And  after  all  the  fine  things  so  elegantly  written 
(by  the  heathen  philosophers)  about  virtue  and  morals,  their  own  con- 
duct afforded  a  pregnant  example  of  the  impotence  of  the  doctrines  which 
they  taught,  whilst  the  Christian  bishops  not  only  lived  what  they  pro- 
fessed to  teach,  but  were  every  day  ready  to  go  to  prison  and  to  death  for 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  (P.  126.)  No  man  counting  his  life  dear 
who  stood  for  Jesus,  "bold  to  seal  the  truth  with  blood." 

"A  learned  and  ingenuous  age  prides  itself  on  its  superiority  in  de- 
fense of  revealed  religion  and  apologizes  for  the  Bible,  but  what  hath  (this 
mode)  of  arguing  proved?  The  plain  story  of  a  plain  unlettered  man 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  197 

telling  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  the  glory  which  hath  followed  with 
their  consequences  hath  done  more  in  the  way  of  conversion  to  real  and 
vital  Christianity  than  all  these  great  polemics  put  together.  [The  learn- 
ed may  smile  in  Saul's  armor,  but  give  me  the  sling  and  the  stone,  and 
the  gigantic  Goliath  falls.]  I  see  the  smile  on  the  wise  academician  and 
the  contemptuous  infidel,  but  I  am  not  ashamed  of  that  gospel  of  Christ 
which  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth,  nor 
of  the  sound  though  unlearned  teacher  who,  having  diligently  read  his  Bible 
and  then  taught  of  God  himself,  is  blessed  with  their  conversation."  (P. 
148.) 

O  my  son,  by  diligence,  discipline,  and  faithfulness,  God  hath  made  us  a 
blessing  to  hundreds  and  thousands  of  those  who  have  died  within  these 
last  thirty  years!  Thus  our  work  and  reward  have  gone  before  us  and 
more  work  and  reward  are  given  to  us  daily.  Let  the  Annual  Conference?, 
the  quarterly  meeting  Conferences,  let  the  presiding  elders,  deacons,  and 
preachers,  all  feel  their  dignity,  do  their  duty,  and  especially  guard  against 
every  danger  and  innovation.  Alas  for  us,  if  ever  our  excellent  consitu- 
tion  and  order  of  things  be  changed  or  corrupted!  (It  is  said  that  a  good 
old  bishop  prayed  that  he  might  be  taken  away  if  Arius  were  restored,  but 
the  heretic  himself  was  taken  away.)  I  believe  that  those  who  would 
divide  the  body  of  Christ  will  be  "  divided  in  Jacob  and  scattered  in  Israel." 
Thirty  years'  labor  and  experience  have  taught  us  something. 

Be  diligent  to  see  and  know  how  the  different  charitable  contributions 
are  disposed  of.  Sign  no  journals  of  an  Annual  Conference  till  every- 
thing is  recorded,  everything  appears  correctly  and  fairly.  Should  there 
be  at  any  time  failures  in  any  department  such  as  you  cannot  cure  or  re- 
store, appeal  to  the  General  Conference.  Be  rigidly  strict  in  all  things. 
Examine  well  those  who  come  as  candidates  for  the  ministry.  It  is  ours 
to  plead,  protest,  and  oppose  designing  men  from  getting  into  the  ministry. 
It  is  the  peculiar  excellence  of  our  Church  and  the  superintendents'  glory 
and  stronghold  that  the  character  of  every  minister  among  us  must  under- 
go a  strict  examination  once  a  year.  Put  men  into  office  in  whom  you  can 
confide.  If  they  betray  your  trust  and  confidence,  let  them  do  it  but  once. 
Of  all  wickedness,  spiritual  wickedness  is  the  greatest;  and  of  all  deceptions, 
religious  deception  is  the  worst.  Beware  of  men  who  have  a  constitu- 
tional cast  to  deception.  Let  every  office,  grade,  and  station  among  us 
know  his  place,  keep  his  place,  and  do  his  duty;  then  you  need  not  fear  for 
the  ark  of  God.  The  Lord  Jesus  will  take  care  of  and  support  his  own 
cause. 

If  we  have  not  men  of  great  talents,  we  have  men  of  good  hearts.  En- 
deavor to  obtain  and  preserve  a  noble  independence  of  soul,  the  willing 
servant  of  all,  but  the  slave  of  none.  Put  full  confidence  in  men  who  merit 
your  confidence.  Never  be  afraid  to  trust  young  men;  they  are  able,  and 
you  will  find  enough  willing  to  endure  the  toils  and  go  through  the  greatest 
labors;  neither  are  they  so  likely  to  fail  as  old  men  are. 

"  The  simplicity  of  gospel  truth  ill  accords  with  a  farrago  of  rites  and 
ceremonies.  Nothing  could  be  more  unadorned  than  the  primitive  wor- 


198  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ship.  A  plain  man,  chosen  from  among  his  fellows,  in  his  common  garb, 
stood  up  to  speak,  or  sat  down  to  read  the  Scriptures,  to  as  many  as  chose 
to  assemble  in  the  house  appointed.  A  back  room,  and  that  probably  a 
mean  one,  or  a  garret,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  observation,  was  their 
temple.  Hymns  sung  to  Christ,  as  their  God,  appeared  to  the  heathens 
a  prominent  and  striking  feature  of  the  Christian  worship.  The  Holy 
Scriptures  were  read  in  portions;  and  the  presbyter,  or  bishop,  or  two  or 
three  of  the  congregation  who  were  endued  with  talents,  spoke  a  word  of 
exhortation  to  the  people  agreeably  to  the  scripture  which  had  been  read. 
Prayer  from  the  heart,  without  a  prompter,  followed,  to  which  the  people 
replied  with  a  loud  and  audible  amen.  He  that  led  the  worship  prayed 
from  his  hearrt,  and  out  of  its  abundance.  I  have  no  doubt  the  Lord's 
Prayer  always  made  a  part  of  their  public  services.  The  Supper  of  the 
Lord  closed  the  devotions  of  his  day.  I  think  it  was  as  constant  as  the 
return  of  that  day,  and  every  member  of  the  Churches  as  constantly  par- 
ticipant. A  friendly  feast,  or  meal,  called  agape,  from  the  love  and  union 
with  which  they  kept  it,  served  at  one  as  an  opportunity  of  ministering  an 
act  of  charity  to  the  poor,  where  all  distinctions  of  rich  and  poor  were  laid 
aside  and  no  man  took  before  others  his  own  supper,  but  all  with  humble 
equality  acknowledged  themselves  members  of  the  living  head,  Christ, 
and  of  one  another."  (P.  150.) 

"Then,  also,  I  apprehend  every  man  produced,  according  to  his  ability, 
weekly  what  he  had  laid  by  for  charitable  purposes,  which  formed  a  fund 
of  obligations  under  the  control  of  the  Church,  through  the  ministration 
of  the  bishop,  presbyter,  and  deacon,  for  all  the  various  purposes  of  general 
good  such  as  purchasing  the  elements  for  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  provisions 
for  the  table  of  the  agapae,  for  the  necessaries  for  the  poor,  the  support  of 
evangelists,  the  relief  of  the  persecuted,  and  for  the  welfare  of  such  Churches 
and  persons  whose  indigence  called  for  the  help  of  their  richer  brethren. 
As  yet  I  can  perceive  no  part  of  this  fund  appropriated  to  pay  the  salaries 
of  any  minister  of  the  sanctuary,  unless  he  came  under  the  title  of  an 
itinerant  evangelist,  and,  being  incapable  of  providing  his  own  maintenance 
and  wholly  occupied  in  the  gospel  work,  was  justly  entitled,  as  preaching 
the  gospel,  to  live  by  the  gospel.  I  very  much  doubt  if  the  bishop  or 
presbyter  and  deacons  received  anything  for  their  labors  of  love.  I  am 
persuaded  they  thought  their  work  their  best  wages. 

"  Amid  the  flames  of  persecution  kindled  without  and  the  corruptions  and 
errors  broached  within  the  Church  continued  to  raise  her  scarred  head,  en- 
circled with  glory,  and  to  enlarge  her  borders  farther  and  wider.  After  the 
departure  of  the  great  itinerant  evangelists  to  their  rest  in  glory  and  on  the 
increasing  extent  of  the  Christian  Church  in  every  place  the  desirableness 
of  a  stationary  president  seems  to  have  introduced  a  change  in  the  govern- 
ment of  several  evangelical  cities  and  Churches.  The  very  learned  Chan- 
cellor King  endeavors  to  prove  that  in  the  largest  cities  there  was  but  one 
Church  and  one  bishop.  I  have  already  given  my  reasons  for  differing  from 
him  and  for  supposing  the  necessity  of  many  house  congregations  where 
the  body  of  Christian  professors  was  so  great,  and  as  they  sought  to  avoid 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  199 

observation  and  to  attract  as  little  as  possible  the  attention  of  the  rulers, 
they  would  not,  assuredly,  in  such  immense  multitudes,  have  assembled 
in  one  place.  That  about  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  a  bishop  ap- 
pears at  the  head  of  a  presbytery,  can  hardly  be  doubted,  and  the  name 
became  appropriate  to  one  which  before  all  the  presbyters  had  equally 
borne.  Being  now  no  longer  under  the  superintending  care  of  the  great 
apostolic  evangelists,  who  went  about  everywhere  to  establish,  to  preserve 
the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  be  the  cementing  bond  of  the  whole  body, 
the  several  presbyters  and  Churches  seem  to  have  chosen  one  of  their 
own  body  to  supply  the  precedence  these  had  before  exercised.  Whether 
the  largest  cities,  as  King  argues,  formed  only  one  congregation  with  many 
presbyters,  or  rather,  as  I  think,  consisted  of  many  congregations  with  pres- 
byters in  each  of  them,  the  whole  seems  now  to  have  formed  one  body 
under  a  superintendent  (or  episcopus,  overseer)  chosen  by  themselves. 
Every  Church  exercised  discipline  over  its  own  members,  in  which  the 
whole  assemblage  of  the  faithful  gave  their  suffrage.  Their  reverence  for 
their  pastors  was  great;  but  clerical  dominion  had,  as  yet,  found  no  place." 
(P.  126.) 

We  have  a  few  more  thoughts  to  add.  It  is  my  confirmed  opinion  that 
the  apostles  acted  both  as  bishops  and  traveling  superintendents  in  plant- 
ing and  watering,  ruling  and  ordering  the  whole  connection;  and  that  they 
did  not  ordain  any  local  bishops,  but  that  they  ordained  local  deacons  and 
elders.  I  feel  satisfied  we  should  do  the  same.  I  found  my  opinion  on  Acts 
xiv.  23:  "And  when  they  had  ordained  them  elders  in  every  Church,  and  had 
fasted  and  prayed  with  them,  they  commended  them  to  the  Lord."  "For  this 
cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  should  set  in  order  things  that  are 
wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in  every  city,  as  I  have  appointed  thee."  (Titus 
i.  5.)  That  is,  do  what  Paul  has  left  undone.  Mark!  it  was  in  the  second 
visit  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  established  order;  and  why  was  Timothy  or 
Titus  sent  if  elders  could  ordain  elders?  And  why  had  the  apostles  to  go 
or  send,  if  it  was  not  held  as  the  divine  right  of  the  apostles  to  ordain? 
I  shall  not  unchristian  any  Church  or  Churches  that  have  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  and  the  power  of  God  among  them,  as  I  have  already  said. 

The  Presbyterian  Churches,  at  the  first,  should  have  established  a  mod- 
erate episcopacy  and  apostolic  .form  from  whence  they  came,  one  from  the 
high  steeples  of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  the  other  from  the  high  steeples 
of  the  Church  of  England.  An  elective,  easy  government,  and  a  traveling 
and  local  ministry,  with  a  judicious  discipline,  would  have  been  better 
than  steeples,  bells,  schools,  colleges,  and  universities  to  make  men  minis- 
ters whom  the  Lord  never  called.  The  ninth  century  appears  to  have  been 
the  time  of  midnight  darkness.  The  light  of  the  Reformation  began  to 
dawn  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  The  reformers  were  great 
men;  but  such  was  the  state  of  affairs  that  no  doubt  there  was  yet  much 
darkness  mingled  with  the  light;  hence,  it  might  be  said:  "All  heads,  and 
no  heads."  And  I  should  be  more  afraid  of  a  many-headed  monster  than 
of  a  single-headed  one. 

You  know  that  for  four  years  past  I  have,  with  pleasure,  resigned  to  you 


200  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  presidency  of  the  nine  Annual  Conferences.  This  has  removed  a  great 
burden  of  care  from  me  and  given  me  much  ease.  You  have  my  letters 
addressed  to  you  on  the  subject.  It  may  be  objected  by  some  that  our 
form  of  Church  government  partakes  too  much  of  the  government  of  the 
nation.  It  does  not  partake  of  its  nature;  but  there  are  some  similitudes 
of  form,  but  not  of  nature.  The  one  is  civil,  the  other  spiritual  and  entirely 
disunited.  Our  government  being  spiritual,  one  election  to  office  is  suffi- 
cient during  life,  unless  in  cases  of  debility,  a  voluntary  resignation  of  the 
office,  corruption  in  principle,  or  immorality  in  practice. 

The  great  diversity  of  gifts,  both  among  our  traveling  and  local  ministry, 
is  happily  diffused  abroad  by  our  mode  of  circulation,  to  the  benefit  of 
hundreds  and  thousands.  Many  of  our  local  ministers  are  men  of  approved 
abilities,  with  grace  and  gifts  worthy  to  fill  any  pulpit.  Many  of  them 
travel  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  year,  are  gladly  received,  and  readily  em- 
ployed to  preach  by  their  traveling  brethren,  and  feel  themselves  at  per- 
fect ease  and  completely  at  home  on  the  different  circuits  and  at  camp 
meetings  where  they  visit,  having  no  fear  they  will  be  considered  as  in- 
truders. 

Further,  it  may  be  asked,  Is  it  proper  to  have  no  learned  men  among  us? 
Answer:  Men  who  are  well  read  I  call  learned  men;  and  we  have  men  of 
learning  among  us,  both  traveling  and  local.  Where  are  our  young  men 
who  are  bred  to  the  law?  and  some  are  doctors;  and  many  others  who  are 
very  studious  and  making  great  progress  in  Latin  and  Greek;  and  many 
have  competent  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  Particularly,  see  in 
the  British  connection  such  men  as  Drs.  Coke  and  Clarke;  a  Benson, 
Creighton,  and  others.  And  in  many  instances  men  who  profess  the  least 
know  the  most. 

A  venerable  German  divine  once  wrote  in  Latin  to  the  English  doctors; 
but  he  had  to  complain  that  they  answered  him  in  English.  But  you  may 
say,  Would  we  not  derive  great  advantages  from  reading  the  Scripture  in 
their  original  tongues  and  judging  of  the  correctness  of  the  translations? 
Undoubtedly;  but  these  advantages  are  in  the  margins  of  the  best  editions 
of  the  Bible.  As  to  our  translation,  it  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  best  and 
most  correct  upon  earth.  To  attain  to  a  proper  knowledge  cf  the  etymol- 
ogy of  all  the  words  used,  even  in  the  Septuagint,  I  know  not  how  many 
languages  you  must  know  besides  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  If  you 
suggest  anything  more,  I  will  maturely  consider  it. 

My  dear  Bishop,  it  is  the  traveling  apostolic  order  and  ministry  that  is 
found  in  our  very  constitution.  No  man  among  us  can  locate  without  or- 
der, or  forfeit  his  official  standing.  No  preacher  is  stationary  more  than 
two  years;  no  presiding  elder  more  than  four  years;  and  the  constitution 
will  remove  them;  and  all  are  movable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  superin- 
tendent whenever  he  may  find  it  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  cause.  It 
is  the  privilege  of  every  traveling  minister  with  us  to  say:  "I  am  not 
obliged  to  serve  you  another  year;  I  will  speak  to  the  superintendent  who 
will  not  impose  on  you  a  second  year."  We  must  conclude  that  all  the 
ancient,  imperial,  Latin,  and  Greek  Churches  were  episcopal  from  their 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  201 

foundation  to  this  very  day,  though  in  a  crooked,  muddy  succession;  per- 
haps all  corrupted  in  ordinances,  and  many  of  them  in  doctrines;  and,  in 
too  many  instances,  the  vilest  of  men  have  filled  the  most  sacred  offices  in 
the  Church.  The  Reformed  English,  Scotch,  Danish,  Swede,  Episcopal 
Churches,  have  all  corrupted  their  ways  before  the  Lord.  Let  Presbyterians 
say  and  write  what  they  may,  as  if  episcopacy  never  existed,  it  must  be 
granted  that  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  centuries  many  of  the  bishops 
were  holy  men,  who  traveled  and  labored  in  the  ministry  very  extensively, 
not  unlike  their  grand  pattern,  St.  Paul,  and  the  other  holy  apostolical 
men,  of  which  wi  have  good  historical  evidence,  which  is  all  the  evidence 
that  can  now  be  given.  To  the  people  of  our  day  we  give  ocular  demon- 
stration, and  the  generations  to  come  may  read  our  Church  records  and 
Conference  journals,  where  they  shall  see  what  vast  tracts  of  country  we 
traveled  over  in  visiting  the  nine  Conferences  annually.  As  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Reformation,  we  have  said,  in  a  second  reformation  they  were 
the  real  gospel.  They  have  been  well  introduced  and  complete  forms  of 
Church  government  established.  Presbyterians  and  Independents  were 
formed  too  about  the  sixteenth  century. 

Finally,  farewell  in  the  Lord ! 

Yours,  FRANCIS  ASBURY. 

LANCASTER  COUNTY,  STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  August  5, 1813. 

This  "Valedictory"  needs  no  explanation  or 'apology  and  is 
a  proper  finale  to  the  life  of  its  great  and  good  author. 

His  remains  were  interred  in  the  family  graveyard  of  Mr. 
Arnold,  at  whose  house  he  died,  but  at  the  request  of  the  citizens 
of  Baltimore  and  by  order  of  the  ensuing  General  Conference, 
they  were  disinterred,  removed  to  that  city,  and  deposited  in 
a  vault  under  the  pulpit  of  the  Eutaw  Street  Church,  Baltimore. 
Very  properly  his  honored  remains,  with  those  of  Bishops 
Emory  and  Waugh,  have  been  transferred  to  the  beautiful 
Mount  Olivet  Cemetery  near  the  city. 

Bishop  Asbury  was  born  in  England,  August  20,  1745; 
entered  the  ministry  at  the  age  of  seventeen;  came  a  missionary 
to  America  in  1771;  was  ordained  bishop  December  27,  1784; 
and  died  March  31, 1816.  He  was  the  apostle  of  Methodism  to 
America,  and  a  true  scriptural  itinerant  bishop.  Two  millions 
of  Methodists  in  America  at  the  present  revere  his  memory,  and 
thousands  of  millions  in  ages  to  come  will  gratefully  claim  him 
as  their  spiritual  ancestor  and  the  great  benefactor  of  our  coun- 
try and  our  race.  May  his  successors  in  the  ministry  and  the 
episcopacy  imitate  his  purity,  zeal,  and  fidelity,  and  the  whole 
American  family,  however  they  may  differ  in  other  and  less 
important  respects,  approve  themselves  as  his  spiritual  children 
by  maintaining  the  doctrines  and  discipline  which  he  labored 
to  establish  and  imitate  the  experimental  and  practical  holiness 
he  professed  and  exemplified ! 


CHAPTER  XIII 

General  Conference  of  1816 — Bishop  McKendree's  address — George  and 
Roberts  elected  bishops — Sketches  of  them— Bishop  McKendree's 
Journal — The  work  divided — New  York  and  Kentucky  Conferences — 
Bishop  KcKendree  organizes  the  Missouri  Conference — Bishop  Roberts 
organizes  the  Mississippi  Conference — McKendree  and  George  at 
South  Carolina  Conference — Changes  made  by  General  Conference — 
From  Middlebury  to  Tennessee — Norton  rejoins  him — To  Mississippi 
Conference  on  horseback — McMahon  and  wife  with  him — Mississippi 
Conference  at  Midway,  1817 — To  South  Carolina  Conference — Griffin 
with  him — Difficulties  of  traveling — Crossing  the  Chattahoochee — 
General  Gaines — Indian  murders — In  Sparta — Myers — Conference  in 
Augusta,  Ga. — Roberts  arrives — They  go  to  Virginia  Conference  in 
Norfolk — Dr.  Phoebus — Travels  alone,  and  leads  a  pack  hcrse — In 
Tennessee — Visits  Southwest  extensively — Ohio  Conference  of  1818 — 
Missouri — Troubles  at  Tennessee  Conference — Writer's  first  acquaint- 
ance with  him — Starts  to  Mississippi  Conference  with  Seaton  and  Edge 
— The  shock — Very  much  affected — Mississippi  Conference — Back 
to  Tennessee — Bishop  Roberts's  letters — Notes  on  preachers,'  qualifica- 
tions— Dr.  Emory —  Letters  between  them — Their  subsequent  inter- 
course. 

THE  second  delegated  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore, 
May  1, 1816.  Out  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  preachers  elected 
by  the  nine  Annual  Conferences,  one  hundred  and  six  took 
their  seats  in  this  body.  The  recent  death  of  the  senior  bishop, 
so  long  their  revered  and  faithful  leader,  cast  a  gloom  over  the 
Conference  as  well  as  over  the  whole  Church.  Among  their 
first  acts  was  to  make  arrangements  to  remove  his  remains  to 
the  city  of  Baltimore  and  to  read  his  Valedictory  Address. 
The  address  is  stated  by  Dr.  Bangs  to  have  been  incomplete, 
being  merely  the  heads  of  what  he  would  have  said  more  fully 
if  his  health  had  permitted  and  was  directed  to  the  Conference 
and  must  not  be  confounded  with  that  to  Bishop  McKendree 
contained  in  the  last  chapter.  In  a  few  days  a  vast  concourse 
of  the  citizens  of  the  city,  with  clergymen  of  other  denomina- 
tions and  the  members  of  the  General  Conference,  preceded  by 
Bishop  McKendree,  followed  the  corpse  of  Bishop  Asbury  from 
Light  Street  to  the  Eutaw  Street  Church,  where,  after  a  funeral 
oration  by  Bishop  McKendree,  it  was  deposited  as  already  re- 
lated. The  death  of  Dr.  Coke  in  1814  and  the  loss  of  Bishop 


Life  and  Timeslpf  Bishop  McKendree  203 

Asbury  had  left  the  Church  with  only  one  surviving  bishop, 
and  he  was  then  in  a  feeble  state  of  health  and  suffering  from 
severe  pain  as  well  as  general  debility.  Bishop  McKendree 
was,  however,  able  to  preside  in  the  organization  of  the  body 
and  before  it  proceeded  to  its  regular  business  delivered  an 
address  "on  the  general  state  of  the  work,  and  the  necessity  of 
adding  strength  to  the  episcopacy."  This  address,  of  which 
Dr.  Bangs  says  he  could  not  find  a  copy,  was  as  follows: 

BALTIMORE,  MAY  1, 1816. 

To  the  General  Conference. 

Dearly  Beloved  Brethren:  We  believe  God's  design  in  raising  up  the 
preachers  called  Methodists  in  America  was  to  reform  the  continent  by 
spreading  scriptual  holiness  over  these  lands.  The  end  is  not  fully  ac- 
complished, therefore  our  mission  is  not  out.  But  there  is  no  reason  to 
apprehend  that  the  plan  and  means  which  have  been  adopted  and  so  suc- 
cessfully pursued  heretofore  are  not  fully  calculated  to  accomplish  the 
desired  object.  But,  alas,  our  success  of  late  falls  far  short  of  what  we  have 
had  in  former  days!  According  to  the  divine  plan,  the  prosperity  of  the 
Church  depends  very  much  upon  the  spirit  and  conduct  of  the  ministry. 
It  is  therefore  proper  at  all  times  for  the  General  Conference  to  pay  par- 
ticular attention  to  the  state  of  the  ministry  and  their  charge,  to  remove 
hindrances,  and  supply  necessary  means.  To  this  end  it  may  not  be 
amiss  for  your  superintendents  to  suggest  for  your  consideration  subjects 
which  appear  to  them  closely  connected  with  your  peace  and  prosperity. 

It  is  useless  to  have  rules  and  regulations  by  which  to  govern  the  Church 
unless  they  are  attended  to,  and  it  is  ultimately  with  you,  whose  prerog- 
ative it  is  to  form  them,  to  see  and  know  they  are  carried  into  effect.  That 
the  executive  authority  is  conferred  on  the  general  superintendents  is  true, 
but  it  is  so  fixed  in  order  to  constitute  a  proper  medium  through  which  to 
supply  every  part  of  this  extensive  work  with  the  necessary  wisdom  and 
experience  as  it  relates  to  gospel  doctrines  and  discipline,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  bring  the  whole  administration  under  your  inspection  as  general 
superintendents  of  the  work.  Therefore  an  effective  general  superintend- 
ency  is  essentially  necessary.  It  is  the  center  of  union  and  harmony  be- 
tween the  several  members  cf  the  general  body  and  the  only  means  the 
General  Conference  has  to  carry  our  economy  into  complete  operation 
and  perpetuate  the  episcopal  government  and  the  itinerant  plan  of  preach- 
ing the  gospel.  But  such  is  the  manifest  weakness  of  the  superintendency 
at  present  that  it  cannot  fully  discharge  all  the  duties  connected  with  this 
department.  You  will  therefore  feel  the  necessity  of  affording  suitable  aid, 
as  you  may  think  proper. 

It  was  the  intention  of  your  superintendents  to  have  visited  the  Mis- 
sissippi, conformably  to  the  arrangements  of  the  last  General  Conference; 
but  the  hostile  disposition  of  the  Indians  and  the  situation  of  the  country 
in  opinion  of  judicious  brethren  were  such  as  to  prevent  them  in  the  first 
instance  and  Bishop  Asbury's  health  in  the  second,  so  that  they  have  done 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

nothing  in  the  formation  of  the  contemplated  Conference.  That  section 
of  the  work,  therefore,  remains  as  it  was;  but  those  best  acquainted  with 
it  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
work  that  the  superintendents  should  visit  that  section  of  the  country. 

It  is  our  misfortune  in  some  parts  of  the  work  to  have  a  ministry  always 
in  its  infancy  and  sometimes  very  deficient  in  numbers  in  consequence-of 
location,  while  the  hands  of  those  who  remain  and  nobly  refuse  to  leave 
the  work  are  made  to  hang  down  by  reason  of  the  weight  of  family  concerns. 
What  can  be  done  to  prevent  the  admission  of  such  into  the  traveling  con- 
nection as  feel  themselves  at  liberty  tc  depart  from  it  at  pleasure,  like  men 
of  the  world,  who  change  their  pursuits  for  their  temporal  interests?  To 
rescue  others  from  such  family  afflictions  as  might  be  removed  consist- 
ently with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  and  our  principles  of  government  and 
at  the  same  time  not  to  impose  improper  or  unnecessary  burdens  on  the 
Church  of  God,  is  both  a  delicate  and  difficult  undertaking;  yet  it  is  pre- 
sumed to  be  possible,  if  wisdom  and  prudence  conduct  the  business  and 
would  no  doubt  contribute  much  to  the  permanency  and  prosperity  of  the 
work  and  order  established  among  us.  And  while  making  the  necessary 
provisions  for  the  needy,  it  may  be  very  proper  you  should  notice  the 
manner  of  circulating  books  among  our  people  and  guard  against  attempts, 
should  they  be  made,  to  divert  the  course  of  our  charitable  institutions  to 
the  personal  interest  of  individuals  and  to  convert  our  worshiping  as- 
semblies into  places  of  traffic. 

It  is  with  regret  that  the  superintendents  have  to  advise  measures  to 
stimulate  the  preachers  to  a  more  uniform  attention  to  the  duties  of  their 
station.  It  is  presumable  that  so  much  more  time  than  is  necessary  is 
taken  up  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  Annual  Conferences  and  in 
leaving  their  charges  for  other  purposes  in  the  course  of  the  year  that 
some  circuits  lose  one-fourth  of  their  time,  if  not  more,  and  thereby  suffer 
an  irreparable  loss. 

It  is  our  professed  business  "to  bring  as  many  sinners  as  we  can  to 
repentance  and  with  all  our  power  to  build  them  up  in  that  holiness  with- 
out which  they  cannot  see  the  Lord."  In  making  full  proof  of  our  call  to 
this  work,  it  is  expected  that  we  should  visit  from  house  to  house,  as  well 
as  preach  the  word  publicly,  to  instruct  the  children,  visit  the  fatherless 
and  the  widow  in  their  affliction,  and  to  enforce  vigorously,  but  calmly, 
all  the  rules  of  the  society.  Are  these  points  properly  attended  to  among 
us? 

The  management  of  this  important  work  is  with  the  superintendents; 
and  it  is  for  the  General  Conference  to  know  the  state  of  affairs  in  order  to 
correct  errors  and  give  tone  to  the  executive,  when  their  aid  is  necessary 
in  carrying  the  plan  into  complete  effect.  Therefore  the  whole  is  cheer- 
fully submitted  to  your  inspection. 

I  remain,  as  ever,  your  brother  and  fellow  laborer, 

W.  MCKENDREE. 

The  Committee  on  the  Episcopacy,  appointed  to  consider 
that  part  of  the  address  which  referred  to  that  subject,  brought 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  205 

in  a  report  recommending  the  election  of  two  additional 
bishops;  and  on  May  14,  Enoch  George,  of  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  and  Robert  Richford  Roberts,  of  Philadelphia, 
were  duly  elected,  the  former  receiving  fifty-seven  and  the  latter 
fifty-five  votes  out  of  one  hundred  and  six. 

Bishop  George  was  a  native  of  Eastern  Virginia,  about  fifty 
years  of  age.  He  was  converted  under  the  ministry  of  John 
Easter;  began  to  travel  and  preach  in  1789.  After  a  few  years 
he  went,  at  the  call  of  Bishop  Asbury,  to  the  Southern  Confer- 
ence, and  labored  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  several  years. 
His  health  failing,  he  returned  to  Virginia  and  about  1800 
entered  the  Baltimore  Conference,  where  he  filled  various  im- 
portant appointments  and  districts.  He  was  a  widower,  with 
four  children;  low  of  stature,  but  stoutly  built.  His  features 
were  grave  and  expressive  of  strong  emotions;  his  eyes,  small 
and  deeply  seated  beneath  an  overhanging,  heavy  brow, 
twinkled,  or  melted  into  tears,  as  the  sentiments  he  uttered 
might  demand;  and  his  voice  thrilled  or  softened  the  hearts  of 
his  auditory,  as  he  poured  out  his  soul  with  a  pathos  the  writer 
never  heard  excelled;  for  he  can  never  forget  a  sermon  the 
Bishop  preached  in  Tennessee  at  his  first  visit  to  that  Confer- 
ence in  1817.  .His  text  was:  "And  this  is  the  victory  that  over- 
cometh  the  world,  even  our  faith."  There  was  something  in  his 
manner  of  address,  in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  the  subdued  yet 
earnest  and  fervid  spirit  of  the  preacher  that  affected  the  whole 
audience.  He  explained  faith  and  illustrated  its  victory  by 
Bible  incidents  in  the  most  simple  and  appropriate  style  and 
blended  arguments  with  exhortation  and  appeals  to  the  under- 
standing with  those  to  the  heart  until  the  entire  assembly 
seemed  to  be  completely  under  the  control  of  his  holy  eloquence. 
There  was  nothing  boisterous  in  his  voice;  no  remarkable  exhi- 
bition of  intelligence;  least  of  all  was  there  any  attempt  at 
oratorical  display.  He  was  not  a  "son  of  thunder,"  but  of 
yearning  pity  and  holy  sympathy.  He  wept  over  sinners;  tears 
were  constantly  welling  up  in  his  eyes,  and,  without  pausing,  he 
would  slip  a  finger  behind  his  spectacles  and  brush  away  the  blind- 
ing tear,  to  be  replaced  by  another  at  the  very  next  sentence. 
Before  my  imagination,  he  seemed  to  be  another  John  who  had 
leaned  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus  and  returned  from  Patmos  where 
visions  of  heavenly  brightness  and  fadeless  beauty  had  en- 
tranced his  mind  and  filled  his  soul  with  adoring  love.  I  was 
young  and  had  just  begun  to  preach.  Since  then  I  have  heard 
many  impressive  sermons  from  the  best  preachers  of  the  land ; 


206  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

they  have  instructed,  charmed,  and  thrilled  me,  but  I  have  never 
heard  a  man  who  so  strongly  wrought  upon  my  feelings  and 
kept  me  bathed  in  tears  from  the  beginning  to  the  close  of  his 
sermon.  The  image  of  that  man  of  God  and  the  scenes  of  that 
hour  are  still  vividly  fixed  in  my  memory;  and  yet,  with  all  his 
purity,  his  zeal,  and  wonderful  power  over  the  heart,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  he  was  well  adapted  to  the  duties  of  the  episcopal 
office.  Without  professing  to  have  a  thorough  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  him,  the  writer  must  be  allowed  to  say  that 
he  was  not  remarkable  for  his  knowledge  of  the  polity  of  the 
Church;  his  very  kindness  of  heart  and  love  of  peace  inclined 
him  to  make  concessions  and  compromises  for  the  attainment 
of  harmony  which  might  have  been  very  prejudicial  to  the 
general  interests  of  the  Church  if  they  had  been  adopted.  He 
was  deficient  in  the  methodical  arrangement  of  his  plans  arid 
too  indifferent  to  the  enforcement  of  rules  of  order  to  make  a 
superior  presiding  officer.  In  these  respects  he  differed  entirely 
from  Bishop  McKendree.  During  a  little  more  than  twelve 
years  he  continued  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  was 
greatly  revered  and  beloved  for  his  many  virtues  and  his  labo- 
rious and  useful  services.  No  one  ever  questioned  his  piety  or 
integrity.  He  was  deeply  pious  and  of  a  most,  childlike  and 
affectionate  heart.  He  lived  a  toilsome  and  suffering  life  and 
died  rather  suddenly  at  Staunton,  Va.,  August  23,  1828,  on  his 
way  to  the  Holston  Conference.  Short  as  was  the  warning,  he 
was  found  ready  and  willing  to  depart,  shouting  in  his  last 
moments:  "Glory,  glory!  I  shall  soon  be  in  glory!" 

Bishop  Roberts  was  a  native  of  Frederick  County,  Md.,  and 
was  born  in  1778.  His  parents  were  in  humble  circumstances, 
having  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  of  whom  he  was  the  ninth. 
They  were  moral  and  respected  for  their  integrity,  and  although 
inclined  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  were  not  professors  of 
religion.  The  literary  advantages  of  the  Bishop  were  therefore 
quite  inconsiderable  in  early  life,  although  his  parents  seem  to 
have  appreciated  the  importance  of  an  education  and  gave  him 
all  the  opportunities  of  mental  culture  which  their  moderate 
means  and  their  locality  enabled  them  to  afford  him.  When 
he  was  about  eight  years  of  age,  they  removed  from  Maryland 
to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  a  retired  valley  at  the  western 
base  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  in  Westmoreland  County. 
Amid  the  wild  grandeur  of  their  new  home,  away  from  the  bustle 
and  fashion  of  the  world,  he  grew  to  manhood.  Under  the  min- 
istry of  the  Methodist  traveling  preachers,  he  and  his  father's 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  207 

family  generally  were  converted  and  joined  the  Church.  Sub- 
sequently the  family  sought  a  residence  in  Shenango  Valley,  in 
the  northwestern  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  where  an  almost 
unbroken  and  uninhabited  forest  surrounded  them.  Soon, 
however,  their  backwoods  section  of  country  began  to  be  filled 
up  with  hardy  and  industrious  pioneers,  and  there  he  began  his 
ministry.  In  1802  he  was  admitted  on  trial  in  the  Baltimore 
Conference  and  appointed  to  Carlisle  Circuit.  It  was  the  same 
year  in  which  John  A.  Granade,  Frederick  Stier,  Joseph  Toy, 
William  Ryland,  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  George  Dougherty,  and 
Nathan  Bangs  entered  the  traveling  connection.  Alas,  all  of 
this  list  of  noble  spirits  have  passed  away  from  earth!  But 
they  all  died  in  faith  and  are  united  with  the  general  assembly 
and  Church  of  the  firstborn.  Mr.  Roberts  married  before  he 
became  a  preacher,  and  his  wife  proved  herself  worthy  of  such  a 
man.  They  never  had  any  children. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1808,  in  Baltimore,  he  appeared 
as  a  member,  clad  in  backwoods  style,  but  such  was  the  impres- 
sion produced  by  his  preaching  that  at  the  solicitation  of  many 
of  the  most  intelligent  and  prominent  members  of  the  Church, 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  session,  Bishop  Asbury  directed 
him  to  quit  his  work  in  the  Western  backwoods,  and  take  charge 
of  the  Baltimore  City  Station.  Thenceforth  it  is  useless  to 
trace  his  course;  suffice  it  to  say,  he  was  always  acceptable  and 
useful,  whether  in  the  cities  of  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  or 
on  the  Schuylkill  District  as  presiding  elder,  from  which  last- 
mentioned  work  he  was  transferred  by  the  vote  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1816  to  the  episcopacy.  The  writer  first  saw 
Bishop  Roberts  at  the  Tennessee  Conference  of  1817,  held  in 
Franklin,  and  heard  him  preach  in  the  courthouse  on  Hebrews 
ii.  3.  He  was  a  large  man,  weighing  two  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds.  His  whole  person  indicated  him  to  be  one  of  nature's 
noblemen.  His  features  were  large,  benignant,  and  intellectual. 
His  head  was  of  an  uncommon  size;  his  forehead  high  and  mas- 
sive; his  eyes  blue  or  hazel  colored;  his  manner  of  address  al- 
ways easy  and  graceful;  his  voice  a  deep  bass,  but  soft  and  musi- 
cal. There  was  nothing  constrained  or  unnatural  in  its  modu- 
lation, but  it  was  an  earnest  and  animated  conversational  tone. 
When  excited  by  "thoughts  that  burn,"  his  majestic  frame 
seemed  to  expand,  his  mind-illumined  face  glowed,  and  his 
voice  would  now  swell  like  the  notes  of  a  bugle,  and  anon  sink 
into  the  low  and  trembling  tones  of  pity  and  persuasion;  and 
yet  there  were  no  abrupt  or  startling  variations,  but  only  such 


208  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

,as  harmonized  with  the  theme,  the  words  of  the  speaker,  and  the 
feelings  of  the  audience.  The  art  of  oratory  he  never  studied; 
and  yet  occasionally  he  almost  reached  the  highest  standard  of 
that  noblest  of  all  arts.  He  practiced  the  art  without  knowing 
it,  for  nature  and  grace  made  him  an  orator.  The  writer  re- 
members most  distinctly  two  sermons  he  heard  him  deliver 
many  years  apart,  the  one  in  Franklin,  Tenn.,  alluded  to 
already,  the  other  in  Huntsville,  Ala.  On  the  former  occasion 
he  held  an  immense  audience  as  if  spellbound  for  more  than  an 
hour  while  he  portrayed  the  fearful  consequences  of  neglecting 
the  great  salvation.  In  that  vast  assembly  there  stood  by  the 
side  of  the  writer  a  friend  from  Nashville,  Mr.  John  Price,  who, 
having  sought  for  mercy  for  months  with  deep  contrition  and 
many  tears,  had  almost  sunk  into  despair.  The  writer  and  other 
young  converts  had  labored  in  prayer  and  exhortation  with  him 
a  good  part  of  the  previous  night,  the  remainder  of  the  night 
he  had  spent  upon  his  knees  alone  in  his  room.  He  went  with 
a  heavy  heart  to  the  courthouse  to  hear  the  Bishop,  having 
refused  all  sustenance  for  many  hours.  But  while  the  speaker 
was  dwelling -upon  the  greatness  of  the  salvation  tendered  to 
penitent  sinners  on  the  condition  of  faith  in  Christ,  my  friend 
stood  and  listened  as  if  transfixed  and  charmed.  After  a  short 
but  eventful  mental  struggle,  the  tears  gushed  from  his  eyes,  a 
faint  smile  stole  over  his  lately  dejected  countenance,  and  pres- 
ently he  sunk  down  with  the  unutterable  peace  of  a  soul 
justified  by  faith.  More  than  thirty  years  afterwards,  this 
friend  of  my  early  ministry  was  taken  from  a  steamboat  de- 
scending the  Mississippi  River,  and  at  midnight  was  left  alone 
on  a  wharfboat  at  Vicksburg.  A  drayman  carried  him  to  the 
hotel,  which  refused  to  admit  him  because  he  had  the  cholera; 
and  before  day,  in  an  old  unoccupied  house,  he  breathed  his  last. 
The  black  man  who  carried  him  to  that  house  and  was  the  only 
human  companion  in  his  last  mortal  struggle  reported  that  he 
died  (as  he  had  lived)  in  the  full  triumphs  of  the  great  salvation. 

The  other  sermon  alluded  to  was  preached  by  the  Bishop  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huntsville,  Ala.,  on  Sabbath 
morning  of  the  Conference.  The  text  was:  "Alleluia:  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth."  (Rev.  xix.  6.)  It  was  a  glo- 
rious sermon,  worthy  of  the  man  and  the  occasion,  and  as  worthy 
of  the  theme  as  any  I  ever  heard. 

It  seems  strange  to  many  that  men  whose  literary  advantages 
have  been  so  limited  as  Bishop  Roberta's  should  make  such  emi- 
nently popular  and  useful  preachers.  Such  persons  lose  sight  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  209 

the  fact  that  Mr.  Roberts,  although  only  an  English  scholar, 
had  a  most  vigorous  mind,  read  and  studied  much  after  he 
entered  the  ministry;  was  by  nature  a  graceful  and  fluent 
speaker;  and  that  in  the  itinerancy  of  the  Methodist  Church  he 
enjoyed  the  privilege  of  graduating  in  one  of  the  best  schools 
for  training  young  preachers  and  making  them  "able  ministers 
of  the  New  Testament."  For  surely,  if  success  be  a  test  of 
ability,  they  may  claim  rank  with  any  in  the  world. 

Bishop  Roberts  was  remarkable  for  modesty,  humility,  and 
simple  dignity  of  manners.  He  was  surprised  at  his  own  popu- 
larity as  a  preacher  and  was  humbled  rather  than  elated  by  the 
discovery,  and  his  election  to  the  episcopacy  almost  over- 
whelmed him.  He  always  shunned  notoriety;  and,  but  for 
conscience'  sake,  would  have  retired  to  his  humble  cottage 
home,  in  the  most  secluded  portion  of  Indiana,  and  spent  his 
life  unnoticed  and  unknown.  Never  have  I  known  a  man  of  a 
more  unaffectedly  humble  and  guileless  heart,  or  one  to  whom 
strife  and  controversy  seemed  more  repugnant.  And  yet, 
although  so  mild  and  almost  apparently  timid,  when  a  sense  of 
duty  to  the  Church,  to  truth,  or  to  the  character  of  a  brother 
required  it  his  firmness  and  moral  courage  were  equal  to  any 
emergency. 

He  made  an  excellent  bishop.  The  only  deficiencies  under 
which  he  labored  originated  in  his  size  and  his  sympathies. 
Owing  to  his  great  weight  he  failed,  on  many  occasions,  to  reach 
the  Conferences  at  the  proper  time,  and,  occasionally,  to  get  to 
them  at  all.  For,  on  account  of  the  want  of  public  conveyances 
and  the  condition  of  the  roads,  especially  in  the  West  and  South, 
he  was  obliged  to  travel  on  horseback;  and  no  horse  could  be 
found  capable  of  bearing  him  through  his  long  tours.  Nor 
were  these  long  rides  much  less  painful  to  himself. 

His  sympathies  were  so  strong  that  he  could  not  always 
resist  their  influence,  even  although  his  judgment  might  demur; 
so  that  many  a  truant  young  preacher  received  a  mild  rebuke 
who  deserved  a  severe  reprimand.  He  presided  over  the  preach- 
ers in  Conference  like  a  father  among  his  children,  and  no  bishop 
was  ever  more  generally  or  deeply  loved.  His  long  and  weari- 
some journeys,  his  exposure  to  every  change  of  weather  and 
climate  for  so  many  years,  and  the  never-ending  care  of  all  the 
Churches,  which  came  upon  him  daily,  after  twenty-seven 
years  of  faithful  and  acceptable  service  as  an  itinerant  bishop 
broke  down  his  vigorous  constitution,  and  he  died  in  the  spring 
of  1843.  His  death  was  peaceful  and  resigned;  his  work  was 
14 


210  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

done,  and  he  was  ready  to  depart  and  go  to  Christ.  And  rarely 
has  so  pure  and  lovely  a  spirit  passed  from  earth  to  heaven.  A 
few  of  his  neighbors  were  present  at  his  burial,  who,  having 
prepared  for  him  a  grave  on  his  own  little  farm,  quietly  laid 
him  away  to  rest  in  one  of  the  most  sequestered  places  in  the 
West. 

Subsequently  the  Indiana  Conference  consented  to  the  re- 
moval of  his  remains  to  Greencastle,  the  seat  of  the  Indiana 
Asbury  University;  and  within  the  inclosure  of  the  college 
grounds  they  now  repose,  awaiting  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

What  a  rich  legacy  has  the  Methodist  family,  North  and 
South,  in  the  character  and  labors  of  their  early  bishops!  And 
while  we  should  never  be  proud  of  our  succession,  we  have  cer- 
tainly no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  May  it  ever  be  so  in 
every  branch  of  our  Methodism! 

Such  were  the  men  who,  by  the  vote  of  the  General  Con- 
ference, were  made  joint  superintendents  with  Bishop  McKen- 
dree. The  field  of  their  labor  was  also  extended  by  the  addition 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Conferences,  making  now 
eleven  Conferences. 

Although  the  war  between  our  country  and  Great  Britain 
had  been  terminated  by  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  signed  December 
24,  1814,  yet  the  effects  of  that  struggle  continued  to  be  felt 
for  some  years  afterwards.  The  excitement  of  the  war  and  the 
demoralization  which  always  accompanies  it,  however,  gradually 
gave  way  to  a  more  healthy  state  of  public  feeling.  But  it  is 
evident  that  from  1812  to  1816  the  Methodist  Church  was  less 
successful  in  increasing  her  membership  and  ministry  than 
during  any  other  equal  term  before  or  since. 

The  Journal  of  Bishop  McKendree  notices  this  fact  in  the 
following  statement: 

"In  1812,  we  had  195,257  members  and  688  traveling  preach- 
ers. In  1816,  there  were  211,165  members  and  695  preachers, 
giving  an  increase  of  15,808  members  and  but  7  preachers  in 
four  years." 

He  proceeds  to  say:  "At  the  close  of  the  General  Conference, 
my  health  was  so  far  recovered  as  to  justify  an  attempt  to 
resume  my  labors,  especially  as  there  were  two  bishops  added, 
who,  I  expected,  would  relieve  me  of  a  great  part  of  the  labor; 
but  neither  of  them  was  acquainted  with  the  general  state  of  the 
Church  or  with  the  peculiarities  and  difficulties  of  the  episcopal 
duties.  It  was  therefore  advised  that  they  should  attend  the 
first  three  Conferences  in  company,  in  order  to  adjust  their 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  211 

views  and  mode  of  presiding,  so  that  ttiey  might  administer 
harmoniously  when  separated.  Bishop  Roberts  approved  of  the 
plan,  and  went  with  me." 

But,  as  it  was  thought  to  be  neither  necessary  nor  advisable 
for  all  the  bishops  to  attend  each  Annual  Conference,  they  made 
a  division  of  the  work  among  themselves,  "mutually  agreeing 
to  attend  the  Conferences  alternately,  thus  changing  their 
work  every  year;  and  for  the  bishop  whose  turn  it  might  be  to 
attend  a  Conference  to  be  the  responsible  president  of  it,  and 
the  other  bishops,  if  present,  to  be  his  counselors.  And,  if  they 
should  not  find  it  best  to  attend  as  counselors,  or  assistants, 
for  the  time  being,  they  were  to  employ  the  intervals  in  visiting 
the  Churches,"  etc.  Thus  was  begun  the  practice  of  dividing 
the  work  of  superintending  the  Conferences  by  the  bishops  them- 
selves, and  also  of  alternating,  a  method  which,  it  is  hoped,  will 
be  perpetuated  as  most  consistent  with  the  genius  of  our 
Church  constitution  and  best  calculated  to  promote  union  and 
perpetuate  the  itinerancy. 

We  quote  again  from  the  Bishop's  Journal:  "The  bishops 
are  personally  responsible  for  their  moral  conduct,  but,  as 
general  superintendents,  they  are  jointly  responsible  for  the 
administration  of  the  discipline  or  for  the  management  of 
'the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Church/"  which  is 
subject  to  their  oversight.  Conformably  to  this  view,  immedi- 
ately after  the  General  Conference  adjourned,  the  bishops 
met  together  to  arrange  their  plan  of  future  operations.  Bishop 
George  proposed  a  division  of  the  work  into  three  districts, 
each  to  take  his  part  or  lot.  To  this  the  senior  bishop  objected, 
and  proposed  that  as  two  were  but  just  entering  upon  the 
important  work,  they  should  all  go  to  the  New  York  and  New 
England  Conferences,  see  the  state  of  things,  harmonize  their 
views  and  mode  of  transacting  their  official  duties,  in  order  to 
prevent  a  difference  in  their  administrations  when  apart. 
Bishop  Roberts  acceded  to  the  proposition,  but  Bishop  George 
had  business  which  called  for  his  attention,  nor  could  he  see  it 
"necessary  for  three  men  to  go  and  do  one  man's  work."  From 
the  New  England  Conference  Bishop  Roberts,  according  to  the 
plan  proposed,  was  to  return  by  Baltimore,  take  his  family 
to  the  western  country,  and  meet  his  colleagues  at  the  Ohio 
Conference.  From  that  point  they  were  to  commence  their 
general  plan  of  operation.  According  to  this  arrangement  there 
was  an  ideal  division  of  the  work  into  three  parts — the  senior 
bishop  taking  the  first,  Bishop  George  the  second,  and  Bishop 


212  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Roberts  the  third.  Each  was  bound  to  attend  his  allotted  part; 
not,  however,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  two,  who  were  at 
liberty  to  attend  officially,  if  they  could  do  so,  or  to  visit  the 
Churches  as  circumstances  might  direct.  Bishop  George  fell 
in  with  the  senior  bishop  at  the  Genesee  Conference,  at  Paris, 
N.  Y.,  July  17,  1816;  thence  they  traveled  together  through 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  Ohio,  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  the  place 
of  the  Ohio  Conference.  Here  they  met  with  Bishop  Roberts, 
all  in  good  health  after  long  journeys  in  very  hot  weather. 

The  Conference  began  on  September  3.  It  was  a  very  sickly 
season,  and  many  of  the  preachers  suffered.  From  this  place 
the  bishops  had  to  separate  in  order  to  organize  the  lately 
constituted  Missouri  and  Mississippi  Conferences.  The  senior 
proposed  to  attend  one  and  his  junior  colleagues  the  other,  with 
liberty  to  select  which  they  would  attend.  But  it  did  not  suit 
Bishop  George  to  attend  either  of  the  frontier  Conferences. 
The  senior  went  to  Missouri,  and  Bishop  Roberts  to  Mississippi, 
which  made  it  necessary  for  the  former  to  add  to  his  travel 
about  1,500  miles,  and  the  latter  about  800.  William  McMahon 
consented,  in  Nashville,  to  accompany  Bishop  Roberts  to 
Mississippi,  but  they  were  both  taken  sick.  Bishop  Roberts 
partially  recovered,  and,  in  a  very  feeble  state  of  health,  pur- 
sued his  journey,  accomplished  his  work,  and  returned  safely. 

Bishop  George  went  immediately  to  Georgia,  and  improved 
the  time  in  visiting  and  preaching  to  his  old  acquaintances  in 
those  parts,  and  then  accompanied  his  elder  colleague,  whose 
course,  according  to  the  general  plan,  commenced  with  the 
South  Carolina  Conference.  By  this  arrangement,  the  Mis- 
sissippi Conference  would  have  fallen  to  Bishop  Roberts  the 
following  year,  which  would  have  imposed  too  much  riding  and 
absence  from  his  family  upon  him.  To  obviate  the  difficulty, 
the  senior  bishop  volunteered  to  serve  it  in  his  stead.  "At  the 
South  Carolina  Conference,  held  in  Columbia,  I  accordingly 
fell  in  with  Bishop  George,  when  we  had  a  profitable  time  with 
the  preachers  in  Conference,  a  pleasing  account  of  the  work  in 
their  respective  charges,  and  an  edifying  time  in  the  congrega- 
tions. Bishop  George  continued  with  me  the  remaining 
Conferences  of  my  work,  and  then  entered  upon  his  own  course. 
But  instead  of  relaxing  my  labors,  I  continued  with  Bishop 
George  to  the  Conferences  in  his  division  of  the  work,  although 
I  had  attended  them  last  year  with  Bishop  Roberts." 

For  the  present,  leaving  these  laborious,  faithful  men  to  pur- 
sue their  toilsome  round  of  duty,  let  us  take  a  concise  review  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  213 

the  condition  of  the  Church  and  the  acts  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. And  the  first  thing  which  strikes  our  attention  is  the 
absence  of  asperity  and  undue  excitement,  as  evinced  by  the 
action  of  the  Conference.  That  there  was  a  difference  of 
opinion,  as  there  always  had  been,  in  reference  to  certain 
measures  of  polity,  there  is  no  doubt;  but  perhaps  in  no  General 
Conference  since  1784  had  there  been  more  unanimity;  so  that 
the  changes  which  were  proposed  in  the  important  principles 
and  mode  of  administration  of  the  government  were  rejected 
with  increased  majorities,  except  in  reference  to  slavery,  while 
the  few  changes  which  were  made  on  points  of  minor  importance 
were  evidently  beneficial.  Let  us  examine  a  few  of  them. 

The  ratio  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference  was 
altered  from  five  to  seven. 

The  proviso  at  the  close  of  the  Restrictive  Rules,  which 
rendered  it  necessary  to  obtain  "the  joint  recommendation  of 
all  the  Annual  Conferences,"  to  enable  the  General  Conference 
to  change  any  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  Church,  was 
stricken  out,  and  "the  concurrent  recommendation  of  three- 
fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences 
who  shall  be  present  and  vote  on  such  recommendation,"  was 
substituted. 

A  new  clause  was  inserted  in  the  Discipline,  making  it  the 
duty  of  the  bishop  to  prescribe  a  course  of  reading  and  study 
to  be  pursued  by  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

Two  new  Conferences,  as  already  stated,  were  added — viz., 
Missouri  and  Mississippi. 

The  annual  salary  of  a  traveling  preacher  was  changed,  in 
1800,  from  sixty-four  to  eighty  dollars;  and  in  1816,  from  eighty 
to  one  hundred  dollars. 

Since  1808,  each  Annual  Conference  had  been  authorized 
"to  make  its  own  rules  about  buying  and  selling  slaves;"  but 
in  1816,  the  General  Conference  resolved  that  "no  slaveholder 
shall  be  eligible  to  any  official  station  in  our  Church  hereafter 
where  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives  will  admit  of 
emancipation  and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  freedom." 
This  was  a  decided  advance. 

Of  course  the  vexed  question  as  to  the  election  of  presiding 
elders  came  up  at  this  Conference,  as  it  had  done  before  and 
continued  to  do  for  several  subsequent  sessions. 

"On  May  7,  Samuel  Merwin  offered  to  amend  the  Discipline 
respecting  the  mode  of  appointing  presiding  elders,  so  as  to 
read, 


214  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

"'Question.  How  shall  the  presiding  elders  be  appointed? 

"'Answer.  At  an  early  period  of  each  Annual  Conference, 
the  bishop  shall  nominate  a  person  for  each  district  that  is  to 
be  supplied,  and  the  Conference,  without  debate,  shall  proceed 
to  the  choice,  the  person  nominated  being  absent;  and  if  the 
person  nominated  be  not  chosen  according  to  nomination,  the 
bishop  shall  nominate  two  others,  one  of  whom  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Conference  to  choose. 

"'Ques.  By  whom  shall  the  preachers  be  appointed  to  their 
stations? 

"'Ans.  By  the  bishop,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
presiding  elders.' 

"Subsequently,  Nathan  Bangs  offered  to  amend  the  first 
answer  by  appending  the  following  words  to  it:  'And  the  pre- 
siding elder  so  elected  and  appointed  shall  remain  in  office  four 
years,  unless  sooner  dismissed  by  the  mutual  consent  of  the 
bishop  and  the  Conference,  or  unless  he  be  elected  to  some 
other  office  by  the  General  Conference.  But  no  presiding  elder 
shall  be  removed  from  office  during  the  term  of  four  years, 
without  his  consent,  unless  the  reasons  for  such  removal  be 
stated  to  him  in  the  presence  of  the  Conference,  who  shall  de- 
cide without  debate  on  his  case. '  "l 

The  whole  question  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  forty-two  to  sixty, 
showing  an  increased  majority  against  the  innovation. 

We  now  resume  the  Journal  of  Bishop  McKendree,  beginning 
with  his  tour,  in  company  with  Bishop  George,  to  the  New 
England  Conference. 

"On  our  way  to  the  New  England  Conference,  at  Concord, 
N.  H.,  which  met  on  May  16,  1817,  we  traveled  two  days  in 
full  view  of  the  winter  snow  on  the  mountains  in  that  State, 
while  the  people  were  planting  corn  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

"May  15. — We  traveled  through  a  fall  of  snow,  the  weather 
being  so  cold  that  some  of  our  company,  from  the  South,  had 
their  faces  frost-bitten.  From  Concord  we  went  to  the  New 
York  Conference,  which  was  held  at  Middlebury,  Vt.,  June  3, 
1817.  From  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  highlands  in  Ver- 
mont we  saw  an  abundance  of  snow  on  the  mountains  in  Canada. 
Our  Conference  was  received  and  treated  in  a  respectful  man- 
ner by  the  citizens  of  Middlebury,  and  the  Lord  made  the  preach- 
ing of  his  word  by  us  a  blessing  to  them.  But  the  Congrega- 
tional minister  manifested  stern  opposition;  however,  we  had 
an  official  invitation  to  preach  and  ordain  in  the  Congregational 

^'Life  and  Times  of  Jesse  Lee,"  p.  500. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  215 

meetinghouse,  it  being  the  largest  in  the  place.  The  court, 
then  sitting,  adjourned  and  attended;  we  had  a  large  congre- 
gation. 

"In  order  to  redeem  my  pledge  to  attend  the  Mississippi 
Conference,  in  Bishop  Roberts's  place,  I  parted  with  Bishop 
George  at  Middlebury.  At  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain  we 
turned  a  little  off  the  direct  road,  to  view  the  British  fleet  which 
had  been  captured  in  the  lake  by  Commodore  McDonough, 
September  11,  1814.  We  thence  urged  our  way  to  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  visited  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  and 
went  across  the  bay  to  Baltimore.  The  excessive  fatigue  of 
riding  on  horseback  induced  me,  while  in  Philadelphia,  to  pur- 
chase a  light  dearborn  wagon,  which  met  me  at  this  place.  After 
a  few  days  we  set  out  again,  and  passed  through  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  crossed  the  Alleghany  to  Wheeling,  Va. 
Thence,  through  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  I  went  to  my  brother's 
in  Summer  County,  Tenn.  Here  I  met  with  my  beloved  friend, 
James  Norton,  who,  at  the  South  Carolina  Conference  of  1813, 
was  appointed  to  travel  with  me;  but  Bishop  Asbury's  aid  hav- 
ing failed,  I  gave  up  Brother  Norton  to  supply  his  place.  At 
the  General  Conference  of  1816,  Brother  Norton  was  a  member, 
and  seeing  I  was  afflicted,  offered  his  services  as  my  traveling 
companion.  The  offer  was  thankfully  accepted.  We  continued 
together  until  the  fall,  and  then,  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  a 
preacher,  and  by  his  consent,  he  was  appointed  to  Fountain 
Head  Circuit.  At  his  quarterly  meeting,  held  for  that  circuit 
at  Stephenson's  Meetinghouse,  October  4,  1817,  he  resumed 
his  place  as  companion  in  travel. 

"As  the  road  we  were  to  take  to  Mississippi  was  not  adapted 
to  carriages,  we  sold  our  little  wagon  and  procured  a  pack  horse 
to  carry  our  provisions  through  the  Indian  Nations.  We  left 
Fountain  Head  in  good  spirits.  In  Franklin,  Tenn.,  Brother 
William  McMahon  and  his  wife  joined  us,  on  a  visit  to  her 
father's,  Judge  Seth  Lewis's,  in  Louisiana.  We  were  blessed 
with  very  agreeable  company.  We  traveled  through  heavy 
rains  and  encountered  high  waters,  not  without  some  appre- 
hension from  drunken  Indians,  but  got  through  safely.  Brother 
McMahon  and  his  wife  pursued  their  way  to  her  father's  and 
we  arrived  in  good  time  at  Midway,  where  the  Mississippi  Con- 
ference began  November  7, 1817. 

"The  Conference  was  a  very  agreeable  one;  but  the  rains 
having  continued,  we  found  the  water  courses  very  high.  We 
set  out,  however,  attended  by  Thomas  Griffin,  who  conducted 


216  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

us  to  Fort  Claiborne.  The  creeks  and  rivers  overflowed;  some- 
times for  miles  the  country  was  inundated.  Ferrymen  took  us 
over  the  streams  and  through  the  woods  as  far  as  the  boats 
could  go,  but  occasionally  we  had  to  swim.  Many  were  our 
difficulties  before  we  reached  Georgia.  The  most  alarming  were 
in  crossing  a  creek  in  Alabama  and  at  the  Chattahoochee  River, 
in  the  Creek  Nation.  A  preacher  from  the  South  Carolina 
Conference,  who  came  to  meet  and  escort  us,  arrived  at  the 
creek  alluded  to  in  the  evening,  and,  finding  it  impassable,  re- 
mained near,  waiting  for  the  water  to  subside.  We  lay  in  the 
woods  all  night,  left  our  camp  fire  early,  and  arrived  at  the 
creek  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  found  the  water 
very  high  an9  the  boat  sunk.  The  ferryman,  being  stimulated, 
obtained  additional  aid,  raised  and  bailed  and  calked  the  boat, 
and  ventured  to  cross  over  to  our  side.  We  got  the  horses  on 
the  boat,  and  off  they  pushed,  rowing  and  bailing  as  hard  as 
they  could,  with  the  water  rising  in  the  boat  all  the  time.  Our 
hopes  and  fears  were  nearly  balanced.  If  the  boat  should  sink, 
we  were  to  swim.  But  the  Bishop  could  not  swim;  however,  he 
could  hold  on  to  the  tail  of  a  horse  and  let  him  swim.  So  soon 
as  the  boat  rested  on  the  other  shore,  the  water  poured  in  at 
both  ends,  but  men  and  horses  hastened  out  while  it  was  sink- 
ing. The  next  night  we  camped  with  a  family  moving  to  the 
West,  who  knew  us.  A  hog  was  killed,  and  we  were  comfortably 
entertained  and  had  meeting  with  them.  Another  night  we 
camped  with  a  number  of  families,  and  preached  to  them.  Our 
journey  was  made  more  pleasant  by  falling  in  with  a  gentleman 
and  his  servant,  who  were  returning  to  Georgia  with  an  empty 
wagon,  for  the  remainder  of  his  family  and  property.  He  gen- 
erously consented  to  carry  our  provision  for  ourselves  and  our 
horses,  and  our  horses  as  well  as  ourselves  were  thereby  safe 
from  starvation. 

"The  Chattahoochee  is  a  considerable  river  where  it  runs 
through  the  Creek  Nation.  As  a  compensation,  in  part,  for  the 
privilege  of  having  a  road  through  the  Nation  from  Georgia  to 
Alabama,  the  United  States  supplied  a  good  ferryboat,  and 
fixed  a  substantial  rope  across  the  river,  but  the  late  freshet  had 
swept  off  the  boat,  and  a  very  indifferent  one  had  been  substi- 
tuted; so  light  and  narrow  was  it  that  travelers  had  to  take 
their  wagons  over  empty,  with  a  wheel  on  each  side  in  the  water. 
It  could  carry  over  but  two  horses  at  a  time,  and  they  must 
stand  lengthwise  in  the  boat  and  keep  quiet.  Thousands  of 
movers  were  on  the  road;  and  many  carriages  and  wagons  were 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  217 

on  the  east  side  of  the  river  awaiting  their  turn  to  cross.  As  we 
were  from  the  West,  we  had  to  wait  no  longer  than  the  return 
of  the  boat.  The  first  boat  took  in  the  two  preachers — i.  e., 
Bishop  McKendnee  and  Brother  Norton — and  their  saddle 
horses,  one  of  which  was  young  and  restive.  After  getting  out 
some  distance  from  the  shore,  by  the  bad  management  of  a 
ferryman,  the  boat  began  to  take  in  water,  the  ferrymen  became 
alarmed  and  let  go  their  hold  of  the  rope,  and  we  were  instantly 
floating  down  a  deep  and  very  rapid  stream,  without  oars  or 
poles,  and  with  nothing  but  a  hand  spike  or  two  on  board.  Find- 
ing our  condition  so  dangerous,  we  endeavored  to  calm  the  agi- 
tation of  the  black  ferrymen,  who  had  been  substituted  for  the 
regular  Indian  ferrymen;  and,  encouraged  by  our  composure  and 
the  promise  of  a  fee,  we  at  last  effected  a  landing  on  the  same 
side  from  which  we  had  started,  and  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  below;  but  the  feat  was  made  with  great  difficulty 
and  at  the  only  point  where  a  landing  was  practicable.  We 
succeeded  in  getting  the  boat  back  to  the  starting  place,  and 
were  finally  put  across  the  river  after  two  hours  of  danger  and 
detention.  The  bank  was  thronged  with  anxious  spectators, 
who  cordially  welcomed  us  upon  our  safe  arrival. 

"A  part  of  the  Creek  Nation  was  then  at  war  with  our  people 
and  killed  one  of  General  Jackson's  soldiers  upon  one  of  the 
nights  we  lay  out  and  not  far  from  us.  We  were  informed  of 
this  fact  by  General  Gaines,  whom  we  met  going  into  the  Na- 
tion as  we  were  leaving  it.  But  the  Lord  helped  and  preserved 
us;  and,  after  a  toilsome  and  hazardous  journey,  we  safely 
arrived  at  our  beloved  friend  and  brother's,  Lusas's,  in  Sparta, 
Ga." 

Let  the  reader  pause  and  think  of  a  tour  from  Vermont  to 
Middle  Tennessee;  thence,  on  horseback,  through  Indian  tribes, 
to  Louisiana;  thence,  amid  drenching  rains,  over  swollen  streams, 
and  through  a  hostile  band  of  Indians,  to  Georgia;  and  this  per- 
formed by  a  man  advanced  in  life  and  infirm  in  health;  and  rec- 
ollect, this  is  but  one  of  the  many  similar  tours  which  our 
bishops  took  to  carry  out  our  system  of  itinerant  general  super- 
intendency.  Such  were  the  men  and  such  the  labors  they  en- 
dured for  souls  and  for  Christ's  sake. 

His  Journal  proceeds:  "At  Sparta  we  were  about  sixty  miles 
from  the  place  where  the  Conference  was  to  meet;  and,  having 
some  spare  time  before  us,  I  determined  to  rest  and  recruit  my 
health  and  strength,  while  Brother  Norton  went  to  see  his 
mother,  after  two  years'  absence.  But  the  good  people  pre- 


218  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

vailed  on  me  to  be  contented  to  rest  the  horses  while  they  took 
me  to  popular  meetings  on  the  two  following  Sabbaths.  After 
having  given  the  horses  nine  days'  rest,  I  set  out  with  Brother 
Lewis  Myers  and  visited  Louisburg,  about  forty  miles  from  the 
seat  of  the  Conference,  Savannah,  and  Charleston,  and  arrived 
at  Augusta,  Ga.,  the  day  before  the  Conference  began,1  making 
four  hundred  miles  instead  of  forty.  I  had  now  visited  the 
Mississippi  Conference  for  Bishop  Roberts,  as  I  promised,  in- 
tending, after  our  interview  to  return  and  visit  the  Churches  in 
Illinois  and  be  ready  to  take  my  course  of  work,  commencing 
with  the  Ohio  Conference.  At  the  South  Carolina  Conference 
we  had  to  manage  some  of  the  most  delicate  and  eventful  busi- 
ness. Bishop  Roberts's  assistance  was  greatly  needed,  especially 
as  it  was  his  special  charge,  according  to  our  division  of  the  work. 
But  the  distance  to  the  Conference  was  greater  than  he  expected, 
and,  his  horse  failing,  he  did  not  arrive  until  the  fifth  day  of  the 
session.  The  important  business  was  adjusted  in  a  way  satis- 
factory to  Bishop  Roberts;  and  we  were  well  pleased  at  the  re- 
sult, which  was  peace  and  brotherly  love.  This  was  Bishop 
Roberts's  first  visit;  he  knew  neither  the  country  nor  the  people, 
and  therefore  was  desirous  I  should  accompany  him  to  Norfolk, 
to  hold  the  Virginia  Conference.  But  as  this  would  add  six  hun- 
dred miles'  traveling  to  my  already  excessive  labors,  I  was  not 
disposed  to  do  so,  and  therefore  took  leave  of  him,  and  set  out 
on  my  westward  tour.  But,  reflecting  on  his  situation — a 
stranger  to  the  way  and  the  people,  his  horse  with  a  sore  back, 
and  having  barely  time  to  get  to  the  Conference — after  riding 
five  miles  I  determined  to  return  and  accompany  him,  if  he  had 
not  gone.  I  found  him,  and  he  was  delighted.  We  started  early 
next  morning  for  Norfolk,  Va.  Our  time  on  the  trip  was  dili- 
gently improved,  traveling  from  thirty  to  forty-five  miles  a  day; 
rain  did  not  stop  us.  Saturday  we  had  our  linen  washed;  Sab- 
bath preached;  and  thus  we  pushed  on,  and  got  to  Norfolk  the 
day  before  the  Conference  opened.  The  back  of  the  Bishop's 
horse  was  well,  and  the  preachers  and  people  were  glad  to  see 
us.  Here  we  unexpectedly  met  with  Bishop  George,  in  good 
health,  with  Dr.  Phoabus  and  his  family,  from  New  York.  The 
Doctor  had  been  appointed  a  missionary  to  New  Orleans  and 
was  on  his  way  there.  The  other  bishops  had  not  been  con- 
sulted in  this  appointment.  The  Doctor  was  approved,  the 
size  and  consequent  expense  of  supporting  his  family  being  the 

lThe  Minutes  show  that  this  Conference  was  appointed  to  be  held  at 
Louisville,  July  27,  1818,  but  it  was  held  at  Augusta. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  219 

only  difficulty.  It  was  supposed  that  a  thousand  dollars  would 
hardly  support  him,  and  he  was  then  without  money  to  bear 
his  traveling  expenses.  Bishop  George  requested  me  to  under- 
take the  management  of  this  business,  but  I  declined;  loaned 
the  Bishop  one  hundred  dollars,  and  bound  myself  to  raise  five 
hundred  dollars  in  the  West  for  the  support  of  the  mission,  if 
it  should  be  carried  into  effect,  provided  my  colleagues  would 
raise  the  balance.  Dr.  Phoebus  was  sent  back  to  New  York, 
and  the  hundred  dollars  returned.  The  Conference  closed  with 
encouraging  prospects  and  the 'preachers  parted  in  love.  I 
parted  with  my  colleagues,  and  set  out  for  the  western  country, 
being  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  from  my  ob- 
ject than  when  I  returned  to  Bishop  Roberts,  in  Georgia.  I 
had  the  company  of  preachers  from  Norfolk  to  Lynchburg,  but 
from  there  to  Kentucky  I  traveled  alone,  leading  my  pack  horse 
all  the  way.  About  the  last  of  March,  or  the  first  of  April,  I 
arrived  safely  at  my  brother's  residence,  in  Sumner  County, 
Tenn.  Having  rested  a  few  days,  I  took  a  young  preacher  with 
me  and  resumed  my  plan  of  visiting  the  Churches  upon  our 
frontier  work.  We  passed  through  the  southwest  corner  of 
Kentucky;  crossed  the  Ohio  River  at  Golconda;  passed  through 
the  southern  part  of  Illinois ;  crossed  the  Mississippi  River  at  Cape 
Girardeau,  visiting  the  frontier  Churches  in  Missouri,  and  in- 
tending to  see  the  Churches  about  Boone's  Lick,  but  sickness 
and  high  water  induced  me  to  stop  with  Brother  Murphy.  After 
a  week's  rest,  I  crossed  the  Merrimack  and  Missouri  Rivers, 
and  attended  a  camp  meeting  between  the  Missouri  and  the 
Mississippi  Rivers,  where  I  met  Brother  Walker,  the  presiding 
elder.  Here  we  held  a  profitable  camp  meeting,  which  is  the 
third  I  have  attended  since  I  crossed  the  Mississippi  River.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  many  of  my  friends  from  the  old 
States  and  of  seeing  the  work  of  the  Lord  prospering  in  the  new 
settlements.  We  then  went  to  St.  Louis ;  crossed  the  Mississippi ; 
visited  the  Churches  about  Turkey  Hill,  Vincennes,  the  forks 
of  White  River,  and  the  little  towns  on  the  way  to  Jefferson- 
ville.  Here  we  crossed  the  Ohio  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  I  had 
sent  an  appointment  for  preaching.  They  had  made  it  a  two 
days'  meeting.  I  was  pleased.  The  congregation  was  very 
large  and  the  meeting  good.  The  next  appointment  was  in 
Shelbyville,  Ky.,  about  thirty  miles  distant.  From  there  I 
visited  Frankfort,  Lexington,  and  Maysville,  in  Kentucky,  and 
as  many  congregations  between  them  as  I  could.  From  Mays- 
ville I  crossed  over  into  Ohio,  to  West  Union,  Chillicothe,  New 


220  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Lancaster,  Zanesville,  Barnesville,  Mount  Pleasant  to  Steuben- 
ville,  August  7,  1818.  From  Middlebury,  June  3,  1817,  to  this 
place,  I  have  traveled  over  a  very  large  tract  of  country;  my 
rides  have  been  excessively  hard,  my  ministerial  services  in 
Conferences,  camp  and  quarterly  meetings,  added  to  visiting 
the  Churches  through  the  districts  and  circuits,  have  been  abun- 
dant, and  I  am  now  feeling  the  effects  in  a  manner  heretofore 
unknown  to  me,  and,  instead  of  relaxation,  my  work  is  rather 
more  rigorous.  Here,  according  to  our  division,  my  course  be- 
gins, and  terminates  at  the  Mississippi  Conference. 

"The  preachers  met,  and  the  Ohio  Conference  commenced 
its  session  at  Steubenville,  August  7, 1818.  All  the  bishops  were 
present,  in  health,  and  bore  their  part  in  the  labors  of  the  Con- 
ference. Joshua  Soule,  our  Book  Agent  from  New  York,  at- 
tended. Qur  business  was  conducted  in  an  orderly  and  proper 
manner. 

"At  the  close  of  this  Conference,  my  strength  was  so  exhaust- 
ed that  some  of  the  preachers,  especially  Bishop  Roberts  and 
Brother  Soule,  objected  to  my  attempting  to  pursue  my  plan 
of  Conference  visitation,  but  having  lately  visited  the  Missouri 
Conference  extensively,  and  the  preachers  having  voluntarily 
changed  the  seat  of  their  Conference  from  Mount  Zion  Meeting- 
house, in  Murphy's  settlement,  to  a  meetinghouse  in  the  forks 
of  White  River,  Ind.,  which  saved  several  hundred  miles  riding, 
I  concluded  to  proceed.  I  would  gladly  have  accepted  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  Mississippi  Conference,  but  the  others  were  con- 
veniently situated.  Bishop  Roberts  offered  his  services  for  the 
Mississippi  Conference,  but  I  thought  his  long  absence  from 
his  family  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  me  to  decline  his  generous 
offer. 

"I  sustained  the  journey  and  the  business  of  the  Missouri 
and  Tennessee  Conferences  much  better  than  I  expected.  At 
the  latter  our  spirit  was  troubled,  and  harmony  interrupted  by 
the  conflicting  subject  of  slavery." 

The  Tennessee  Conference,  which  began  October  1, 1818,  in 
Nashville,  marks  the  time  of  the  writer's  acquaintance  with 
Bishop  McKendree  and  of  his  admission  on  trial  as  a  traveling 
preacher.  He  had  attended  the  previous  session  of  the  Con- 
ference in  Franklin,  and  had  traveled  the  Nashville  Circuit  the 
past  year,  under  the  employment  of  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  the 
presiding  elder  of  the  dictrict,  his  colleague  being  Miles  Harper. 
Nashville  was  then  in  the  circuit,  and  as  the  Conference  was 
held  in  his  work,  it  afforded  him  an  opportunity  of  becoming 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  221 

acquainted  with  all  the  preachers.  Bishop  McKendree  was 
the  only  bishop  present  and  was  greatly  admired  and  loved. 
The  Conference  held  its  session  in  an  office  or  session  room 
near  the  old  Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  not  the  custom  then 
to  let  anybody  into  the  Conference  room  except  the  members. 
I  remember  there  was  "trouble"  and  want  of  "harmony"  at 
that  session,  for  as  I  and  many  others  hung  about  the  premises, 
we  often  saw  the  members  come  out  of  the  Conference  room 
with  a  sad  countenance,  and  when  they  would  meet  a  confiden- 
tial friend,  a  suppressed  but  earnest  and  sad  conversation  would 
take  place,  which  indicated  anxiety  and  sorrow.  No  one  own- 
ing slaves  could  be  admitted  unless  upon  a  promise  to  emanci- 
pate them.  This  was  adopted  as  a  rule  of  action  by  a  large 
party  in  the  Conference,  although  it  could  not  always  be  carried 
into  effect.  But  in  most  cases  it  was.  Dr.  Gilbert  D.  Taylor, 
a  man  in  every  respect  eminently  worthy,  was  refused  admis- 
sion because  he  owned  slaves,  although  he  avowed  his  purpose 
to  set  them  free,  a  purpose  which  he  effected  by  taking  them  to 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  after  having  in  vain  memorialized 
the  States  of  Tennessee  and  Alabama  to  allow  him  to  emanci- 
pate them.  Alas  for  his  slaves!  Their  freedom  was  their  mis- 
fortune. 

But  let  us  follow  the  Bishop.  "From  this  Conference  I  took 
John  Seaton  and  Benjamin  Edge  with  me  for  the  Mississippi 
Conference  and  set  out  in  good  spirits.  Being  indisposed  and 
intending  to  take  Carroll's  road,  we  stopped  at  the  fork  to  spend 
the  night,  but  learning  we  must  go  seven  miles  farther  or  lie  in 
the  woods  the  next  night,  we  went  forward .  I  became  very  much 
exhausted,  and  a  little  before  we  reached  the  stand  /  received  a 
very  uncommon  shock.  My  whole  system  was  affected,  and  es- 
pecially my  head.  I  avoided  falling  from  my  horse  by  easing 
myself  off.  After  resting  on  the  grass  awhile,  I  mounted,  and 
went  slowly  to  the  Indian  house  where  I  expected  to  stay  all 
night.  From  this  place  we  went  by  short  stages  to  the  house  of 
Brother  Ford,  where  the  Conference  was  held.  On  the  first  day 
of  the  session,  October  29, 1818, 1  presided,  but  was  exceedingly 
debilitated,  owing  mainly  to  my  attack  and  partly  to  the  error 
I  committed  in  having  blood  taken  and  using  an  emetic.  The 
second  day,  the  little  Conference  of  ten  members  met  in  my 
room.  I  was  in  bed,  but  the  president  pro  tern,  sat  near  my 
bedside,  and  the  business  of  Conference  was  done  properly.  It 
was  a  camp  meeting  Conference,  and  on  the  Sabbath  there  was 
preaching  on  the  camp  ground.  I  was  taken  in  a  carriage  to  the 


222  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

camp  ground,  and  lay  on  a  bed  near  the  stand  during  preaching, 
having  been  assisted  to  the  place  and  supported  by  two  preach- 
ers while  performing  the  ordination.  I  was  taken  back  immedi- 
ately by  the  kind  and  attentive  physician  to  the  house  of  Broth- 
er Ford.  Monday  morning  the  preachers  met,  received  their 
appointments,  and  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  each  other, 
except  Thomas  Griffin,  John  Lane,  and  Benjamin  Edge,  who 
waited  a  few  days  to  see  the  progress  of  my  complaint.  After 
I  had  endured  the  third  shock,  the  doctor  said  I  must  not  move 
shortly.  Seaton  went  to  his  circuit,  Edge  stayed  with  me,  and 
Brother  Lane  was  to  prepare  the  Minutes  and  take  them  to 
Conference  in  South  Carolina  to  Bishop  Roberts. 

"A  few  days  decided  my  situation.  I  could  not  move.  Broth- 
er Lane  left  me,  but  with  one  of  the  kindest  families  to  be 
found.  Every  mark  of  attention  was  shown  me,  insomuch  I 
was  humbled  under  a  sense  of  obligation  to  the  whole  family. 
Sister  Ford  was  a  mother  indeed  to  me,  and  her  daughters  were 
nursing  sisters.  A  colored  lad  voluntarily  took  to  nursing  me. 
He  would  lie  by  my  bed  at  night  and  wake  up  at  the  slightest  noise 
and  was  in  every  way  the  most  attentive  boy  I  ever  saw.  Broth- 
er Edge  had  been  sent  to  a  circuit,  but  left  it  to  attend  to  me. 

"Some  time  in  February  I  ventured  to  move,  and  by  short 
stages  reached  Colonel  Richardson's;  was  comfortably  enter- 
tained there  and  at  Brother  Winans's,  and  especially  at  Judge 
McGehee's.  In  March,  accompanied  by  Brother  Winans,  I 
ventured  to  visit  New  Orleans,  to  see  the  infant  Church  or 
mission  there,  and  returned  to  my  asylum  in  Wilkinson  County. 
The  physician  advised  his  patient  to  leave  that  country  before 
summer.  For  this  purpose  my  esteemed  friend,  Judge  McGehee, 
presented  me  with  a  light  Jersey  wagon,  which  was  generously 
stored  with  provisions,  and,  accompanied  by  John  Lane  and 
Benjamin  Edge,  I  left  the  State  about  the  middle  of  April.1  I 

*The  following  note,  in  the  Bishop's  own  handwriting,  has  reference  to 
this  period  of  his  life,  and  evinces  his  candor  and  humility.  It  shows,  too, 
that  it  is  possible  to  employ  our  time  and  talents  faithfully  and  zealously 
in  the  work  of  God  and  yet  be  so  oppressed  and  harassed  with  the  details 
of  Church  business  and  the  anxieties  connected  with  a  highly  responsible 
position  in  the  Church  as  to  suffer  loss  in  spirituality;  so  true  is  it  that 
there  is  no  substitute,  not  even  working  for  Christ  and  his  Church,  which 
supersedes  the  absolute  necessity  of  prayer,  watchfulness,  and  daily  com- 
munion with  God  through  the  Holy  Comforter;  in  a  word,  a  daily  sense  of 
personal  religious  fellowship  with  Christ  must  be  maintained  by  all  preach- 
ers and  bishops,  as  well  as  private  Christians,  no  matter  how  conscien- 
tiously in  other  respects  they  may  give  themselves  to  his  work  in  order  to 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  223 

think  it  was  about  ten  days  after  we  entered  the  Choctaw  Na- 
tion that  we  crossed  the  Tennessee  River.  The  stands  were 
'few  and  far  between';  and  as  we  traveled  too  slowly  to  reach 
them,  we  lodged  in  the  woods,  stopping  as  weariness  dictated. 
I  think  we  camped  out  eight  nights,  but  received  no  injury  from 
it,  indeed,  the  trip  rather  improved  my  health.  The  weather, 
however,  was  favorable,  and  we  reached  my  brother's  in  Ten- 
nessee safely. 

"After  resting  a  few  weeks  with  my  brother,  I  set  out  with 
Brother  W.  McMahon  and  wife  for  the  Harrodsburg  Springs, 
in  Kentucky;  lodged  with  Brother  Head  (then  a  warm  friend 
of  ours,  but  turned  against  us  since) ;  here  I  was  comforted,  and 
the  water  benefited  me.  Assisted  from  place  to  place,  I  visited 
my  old  friends,  preached  at  times,  attended  camp  meetings,  and 
got  to  the  Ohio  Conference,  in  Cincinnati,  August  7,  1819. 
Bishop  George  arrived  in  good  health,  and  the  preachers  were 
well  and  in  good  spirits. 

"From  the  Ohio  Conference  I  returned  through  Kentucky 
by  slow  and  short  movements  to  Fountain  Head,  in  Tennessee. 
There  Andrew  Monroe,  a  representative  to  the  ensuing  General 
Conference,  came  to  my  assistance  and  kindly  consented  to  con- 
tinue with  me  on  my  trip  to  Baltimore.  We  arrived  in  George- 
have  the  witness  of  their  acceptance  with  God.  So  then  we  may  decline 
in  love  and  joy  in  the  midst  of  the  hardest  labor  and  greatest  sacrifices. 
Yea,  we  may  give  our  bodies  to  be  burned,  and  yet  such  zeal  will  not  do 
without  love  to  God.  The  Bishop  says: 

"  During  this  affliction  I  was  brought  to  examine  my  life  in  relation  to 
eternity  closer  than  I  had  done  when  in  the  enjoyment  of  health.  'The 
spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Church'  has  become  so  complicated, 
spread  out  over  so  vast  a  territory,  and  involves  so  many  responsible  and 
delicate  official  acts,  that  I  have  been  almost  constantly  mentally  em- 
ployed, and  frequently  greatly  perplexed  and  distressed  in  its  manage- 
ment. In  this  examination  relative  to  the  discharge  of  my  duties  toward 
my  fellow  creatures  as  a  man,  a  Christian  minister,  and  an  officer  of  the 
Church,  I  stood  approved  by  my  own  conscience,  but  in  relation  to  my 
Redeemer  and  Saviour,  the  result  was  different.  My  returns  of  gratitude 
and  loving  obedience  bear  no  proportion  to  my  obligations  for  redeeming, 
preserving,  and  supporting  me  through  the  vicissitudes  of  life  from  infancy 
to  old  age.  The  coldness  of  my  love  to  him  'who  first  loved  me,'  and  has 
done  so  much  for  me,  overwhelmed  and  confused  me;  and  to  complete  my 
unworthy  character,  I  had  not  only  neglected  to  improve  the  grace  given 
to  the  extent  of  my  privilege  and  duty,  but  for  want  of  that  improvement 
had,  while  abounding  in  perplexing  care  and  labor,  declined  from  first  love 
and  zeal.  I  was  confounded,  humbled  myself,  implored  mercy,  and  re- 
newed my  covenant  to  strive  and  devote  myself  unreservedly  to  the  Lord." 


224  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

town,  D.  C.,  before  the  Baltimore  Conference  adjourned.  It 
began  March  8,  1820.  The  brethren  received  us  with  live- 
ly expressions  of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  preservation  of  my 
life."1 

We  have  already  seen  that  Bishop  McKendree,  while  he  was 
ill  in  Mississippi,  sent  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference  by  Brother 
Lane  to  meet  Bishop  Roberts  at  the  South  Carolina  Conference. 
Brother  Griffin  also  wrote  to  Bishop  Roberts,  informing  him  of 
the  extreme  prostration  of  Bishop  McKendree.  The  following 
letter  from  Bishop  Roberts  will  be  read  with  interest,  not  only 
because  of  the  fraternal  love  it  breathes,  but  also  because  very- 
little  of  the  composition  of  that  excellent  man  has  been  pre- 
served: 

CAMDEN,  S.  C.,  December  30,  1818. 

Dear  Bishop  McKendree:  With  mingled  emotions  of  sorrow  and  joy  I 
received  the  information  communicated  by  Brother  Griffin's  letter,  sorrow 
to  hear  you  are  pressed  down  with  a  weight  of  afflictions  so  that  you  could 
not  be  present  at  this  Conference,  and  joy  to  find  from  the  same  letter  that 
you  are  on  the  recovery.  0  may  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  shortly  re- 
store you  to  health,  that  you  may  go  in  and  out  before  his  people  for  many 
years ! 

Our  Conference  commenced  at  the  time  appointed.  The  members  were 
generally  present,  and  did  their  business  with  considerable  dispatch. 
Thirteen  were  admitted  on  trial  as  candidates  for  the  traveling  ministry. 
Three  of  the  number  admitted  last  year  found  to  be  incompetent  and  were 
dropped;  one  departed  this  life — namely,  Absalom  W.  Phillips;  and  four- 
teen have  located.  So  we  have  but  a  partial  supply  for  the  present  year; 
but  partial  as  it  is,  we  have  thought  proper  to  send  one  (Alexander  Talley) 
as  a  missionary  to  Alabama. 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  fron  Brother  Mark  Moore,  our  missionary 
in  New  Orleans.  He  writes  me  that  prospects  are  flattering.  Have  put 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  the  hands  of  Brother  Lane  to  be  applied 
to  the  support  of  that  mission.  Brother  Lane  tells  me  it  is  likely  to  be  a 
very  expensive  one;  but  we  must  support  it  as  well  as  we  can.  Any  money 
I  may  collect  for  it,  as  I  go  on  to  the  East,  I  will  place  in  the  hands  of  the 

JThe  Rev.  Andrew  Monroe,  who  is  still  an  efiective  and  useful  traveling  preacher  in  the 
Missouri  Codference,  has  kindly  furnished  an  interesting  account  of  this  trip  of  a  thousand 
miles.  A  part  of  this  contribution  is  wanting:  but  we  learn  the  Bishop,  although  very  af- 
flicted and  feeble,  went  on  horseback  from  Tennessee  to  Lynchburg,  where  his  friends  pre- 
vailed on  him  to  go  the  remainder  of  the  route  to  Georgetown,  D.  C,,  in  a  little  carriage. 
Brother  Monroe  was  delighted  and  edified  with  the  conversation  and  example  of  his  suffer- 
ing and  heroic  companion,  nnd  warmly  eulogizes  his  character  as  a  gentleman,  a  devout 
Christ  ion,  a  wise  man,  and  a  model  bishop.  The  Bishop  devotes  a  few  words  only  to  this 
long  and  toilsome  journey.  It  is  regretted  that  the  narrative  of  Mr.  Monroe  cannot  be 
had,  as  the  fragment  of  it  contains  some  striking  illustrations  of  the  Bishop's  character 
and  manner  of  life. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  225 

Book  Agents,  and  take  a  draft  for  the  presiding  elder  of  the  Natchez  Dis- 
trict, who,  I  understand,  is  one  of  the  committee  to  superintend  the  New 
Orleans  Mission. 

There  were  several  letters  in  the  post  office  here  directed  to  you.  I 
opened  them  all,  and  found  they  were  mostly  on  business  relating  to  the 
Conference.  But  three  of  them  were  from  Ohio — one  from  David  Young, 
another  from  James  Quinn,  and  the  other  from  Moses  Grume.  There  is  a 
great  work  of  religion  in  Brother  Grume's  district;  and  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  State,  with  the  exception  of  some  parts  of  Brother  Finley's  district, 
all  things  seem  to  continue  as  they  were. 

There  is  a  good  work  going  on  in  some  parts  of  the  Virginia  and  Balti- 
more Conferences. 

In  this  Conference  the  increase  of  whites  last  year  does  not  exceed  two 
hundred;  and  I  think  there  is  a  decrease,  taking  the  white  and  colored 
together.  The  Conference  was,  however,  rich  in  funds  and  able  to  pay 
off  all  demands  against  it. 

My  sheet  is  nearly  full,  and  it  is  now  past  midnight;  so  I  must  close.  My 
health  is  good,  my  mind  tranquil,  and  I  trust,  my  heart  fixed  to  do  the  will 
of  God. 

Yours  affectionately,  R.  R.  ROBERTS. 

Although  Bishop  McKendree  had  generously  determined  to 
make  the  tour  to  the  Mississippi  Conference,  which  resulted  so 
disastrously  to  his  health,  rather  than  suffer  Bishop  Roberts 
to  be  so  long  from  his  family,  yet  Bishop  Roberts  with  equal 
unselfishness  was  willing  and  ready  to  undertake  it.  The  fol- 
lowing letter  was  written  after  the  interview  between  them,  in 
which  the  senior  bishop  had  volunteered  to  do  this  work,  and 
sometime  before  he  had  started  on  his  journey: 

STEUBENVILLE,  OHIO,  August  11,  1818. 

Dear  Bishop  McKendree:  May  grace,  mercy,  and  peace  be  multiplied 
to  you  and  every  gospel  blessing  be  yours,  in  time  and  eternity! 

The  reason  of  my  troubling  you  with  these  few  lines  is  to  let  you  know 
that  the  thought  of  your  going  to  the  Mississippi  Conference  this  fall 
afflicts  my  mind.  If  you  say  the  word,  I  am  still  willing  to  go  for  you,  and 
if  you  go  yourself  and  the  journey  be  too  great  for  you  and  anything  dis- 
agreeable should  occur,  these  lines  will  bear  me  witness  that  I  am  not  the 
cause  and  keep  my  conscience  and  character  clear. 

I  remain,  as  ever,  yours  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel,     R.  R.  ROBERTS. 

Surprise  has  often  been  expressed  at  the  good  judgment  man- 
ifested by  Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  in  the  appointment 
of  the  preachers  to  their  work;  but  while  we  give  them  credit 
for  great  sagacity  in  discerning  the  characters  of  men  and  in 
15 


226  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

adapting  the  workmen  to  the  work,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  they  visited  the  whole  work  annually,  and  that  conse- 
quently they  never  lost  sight  of  a  preacher.  The  following 
memorandum,  found  among  Bishop  KcKendree's  papers,  may 
serve  to  explain  this  matter: 

"The  characteristics  of  the  persons  admitted  on  trial  in  the 
Ohio  Conference,  A.  D.  1818: 

"Samuel  Adams. — Married;  a  man  of  talents,  though  much 
cannot  be  expected  from  him,  because  of  age  and  family. 

"James  Smith. — Single,  young,  pious,  moderate  abilities. 

"Charles  Elliott. — Single,  young,  good  acquired  abilities. 
He  is  a  mathematician,  a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  also  has  a 
considerable  knowledge  of  Hebrew. 

"G.  R.  Jones. — Middle-aged,  married,  though  prepared  to 
travel  a  length  of  time;  his  usefulness  promising. 

"L.  Swormstedt. — Single,  about  nineteen  years  of  age,  has 
more  than  ordinary  abilities,  has  been  genteelly  raised,  is  pious 
and  diligent  in  his  studies.  He  promises  great  usefulness. 

"A.  W.  Elliott. — Married,  aged  about  thirty  years,  has  a 
family  of  seven  children,  cannot  go  far  from  home,  has  useful 
abilities;  a  son  of  thunder." 

The  Journal  and  the  letters  of  Bishop  McKendree  show  the 
high  estimation  in  which  this  sagacious  and  good  man  held  the 
talents  and  character  of  the  late  Bishop  Emory  while  he  was 
yet  comparatively  young  and  unknown  and  the  strong  mutual 
attachment  which  existed  between  them. 

John  Emory  was  born  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland, 
in  1789.  His  parents  were  intelligent,  highly  respected,  and 
pious.  His  early  indications  of  unusual  mental  activity  and  of 
strong  convictions  of  moral  obligation  induced  his  father  to 
give  him  a  collegiate  education.  Following  the  wish  of  his 
father  and  the  natural  bent  of  his  own  mind,  he  became  a  stu- 
dent of  law  in  1805;  and  he  embraced  religion  the  year  following. 
Shortly  afterwards  (in  1807),  he  was  licensed  as  a  local  preacher, 
yet  pursued  his  legal  studies  and  became  a  practicing  attorney. 
But  in  1810,  he  resolved  to  abandon  the  law  and  give  himself 
wholly  to  the  work  of  the  itinerant  ministry.  Providentially, 
about  this  time  he  met  with  Bishop  McKendree,  "accompa- 
nied him  to  Virginia,  and  thence  back  to  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
ference." At  this  Conference  (the  venerable  Asbury  presiding) 
Mr.  Emory,  then  just  twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  received 
on  trial. 

It  was  thus  the  intimacy  and  attachment  began  between  Bish- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  227 

op  McKendree  and  Bishop  Emory.  What  a  blessing  it  was  that 
the  young  Timothy  had  the  privilege  of  associating  with  such 
a  Paul  in  the  beginning  of  his  itinerant  career!  How  invaluable 
to  him  was  such  an  example  of  piety,  prudence,  and  fidelity. 
The  impression  seems  to  have  been  indelible. 

In  1817,  Mr.  Emory  was  selected  by  the  Bishop  as  his  travel- 
ing companion  on  a  tour  of  the  continent,  but  on  account  of  the 
unwillingness  of  his  charge  to  give  up  their  pastor,  the  Bishop 
consented  for  him  to  return,  after  having  had  his  company 
through  the  Northern  and  Eastern  Conferences.  Having  been 
stationed  the  two  preceding  years  in  Washington  City,  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of  1820.  It  will 
be  seen  that  in  this  body  he  dissented  from  the  views  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  majority  upon  the  presiding  elder  question;  and 
although  in  the  general  excitement  which  grew  out  of  the  pro- 
ceedings upon  this  subject  a  degree  of  coolness  occurred  between 
him  and  his  old  friend,  yet  he  was  appointed  unanimously  by  the 
bishops  a  delegate  from  the  American  General  Conference  to 
the  British  Conference.  Having  acquitted  himself  most  hon- 
orably, both  to  himself  and  the  body  he  represented,  in  adjust- 
ing the  difficulties  which  had  sprung  up  between  these  two  great 
divisions  of  the  Wesleyan  family  in  reference  to  Canada,  and 
having  impressed  our  trans-Atlantic  brethren  very  favorably, 
he  soon  returned  to  the  United  States  and  resumed  his  labors 
as  a  traveling  preacher. 

The  following  letter  shows  the  cordial  correspondence  which 
was  kept  up  between  Mr.  Emory  and  the  Bishop  and  is  in  reply 
to  one  he  had  just  received  from  the  Bishop.  It  awakens  some 
pleasant  and  melancholy  reminiscences: 

WASHINGTON,  April  29, 1819. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  of  October  5  last,  from  Nashville, 
was  dully  received  and  would  have  been  long  since  answered  if  I  had 
known  where  to  address  you. 

It  was  with  much  concern  that  I  heard  of  the  arduous  and  dangerous 
journey  which  you  then  meditated,  notwithstanding  your  infirmities,  the 
effect  of  which  we  were  but  too  sensibily  apprised  of  by  your  absence  from 
our  late  Conference.  I  was  not  present  when  Bishop  Roberts  informed 
the  Conference  of  the  cause  of  your  absence  (not  having  then  arrived), 
but  he  had  the  goodness,  afterwards,  to  show  me  your  letter  to  him,  from 
which  it  affords  me  much  satisfaction  to  learn  that  you  had  so  far  recovered 
as  to  be  able  to  ride.  That  you  may  be  speedily  restored  and  permitted 
to  visit  us  again  is  not  only  my  prayer,  but  I  doubt  not  of  many  in  this 
part  of  your  extensive  charge. 

Our  Annual  Conference,  on  the  whole,  was  an  agreeable  one.    The  in- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

crease  in  our  numbers  was  said  to  be  about  two  thousand.  In  this  station 
(in  which  I  am  continued),  I  think  our  prospect  is  still  pleasing.  The 
congregation  is  large,  respectable,  and  seriously  attentive,  and  our  numbers 
have  increased  from  133  (the  number  returned  by  Brother  Burch)  to  over 
170  whites  and  48  or  50  colored.  Brother  Roszel  is  our  presiding  elder,  we 
being  now  attached  to  the  Baltimore  District;  Brother  John  Davis,  in 
Georgetown;  Monroe,  at  the' Navy  Yard,  and  J.  Wells  in  Alexandria. 

It  will  give  me  much  pleasure  to  hear  from  you,  if  you  can  at  any  time 
find  leisure  enough  to  write  me  a  few  lines,  if  it  be  only  to  inform  me  how 
and  where  you  are. 

My  wife,  although  not  personally  acquainted  with  you,  yet  begs  me  to 
assure  you  of  her  affectionate  regards,  of  which,  I  must  tell  you,  she  has 
given  a  mother's  proof  in  expressing  a  particular  wish  that  you  should 
have  baptized  our  little  son  had  you  been  at  our  Conference,  as  was  ex- 
pected. She  calls  him  John;  he  is  now  eight  weeks  old.  My  Robert,  who 
is  a  well-grown,  hearty  boy,  is  not  now  with  me,  but  I  expect  to  have  him 
this  summer.  Pardon  me,  sir,  for  this  family  digression.  A  stranger 
might  think  I  was  forgetting  myself  in  writing  thus  to  you,  but  you  will 
not. 

We  hope  for  an  interest  in  your  prayers,  and  be  assured  I  remain,  as 
ever,  respectfully  and  effectionately  your  son  in  the  gospel,  J.  EMORY. 

P.  S.  — The  Baltimore  Conference  has  authorized  the  publication  of 
Bishop  Asbury's  "Life,"  if  approved  of  by  the  committee,  of  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be  one.  Dr.  Jennings  gives  us  hope  of  having  the  manu- 
script soon.  They  have  also  authorized  the  publication  of  Bishop  Asbury's 
Journal. 

The  difference  in  opinion  between  the  Bishop  and  Dr.  Emory 
alluded  to,  as  it  involved  no  loss  of  confidence  in  each  other's 
integrity,  was  not  permitted  to  quench  their  esteem  or  affection. 
Its  effects  were  temporary.  Upon  the  first  opportunity  that 
presented  itself  after  his  return  from  England,  an  interview 
between  them  took  place  in  which  they  interchanged  sentiments 
on  the  presiding  elder  question.  On  the  next  day,  Bishop 
McKendree  sent  him  the  following  note: 

SHARPSBURG,  July  13,  1822. 

Dear  Brother:  The  friendly  conversation  which  you  introduced  yester- 
day had  for  its  object  the  perpetuation  of  that  confidence  and  harmony 
by  which  we  have  been  so  long  united  and  was  therefore  pleasing  to  me. 
I  am  cordially  disposed  to  meet  your  advances  in  the  accomplishment  of 
so  desirable  an  object.  Nothing  short  of  sin  gives  me  so  much  pain  as  to 
see  and  feel  declension  in  Christian  fellowship.  Situated  as  we  are,  to 
understand  each  other  is  of  vital  importance.  For  this  purpose  your  at- 
tention is  invited  to  the  following  particulars,  in  order  to  know  whether 
I  understand  you  correctly,  and  if  not,  I  hope  you  will  correct  me: 

1.  I  understood  you  to  say,  in  different  parts  of  our  conversation:  "It 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  229 

is  to  be  presumed  that  the  General  Conference  will  not  knowingly  pass  an 
unconstitutional  law." 

2.  "  That  the  bishops  have  no  right  to  decide  against  the  decisions  of  the 
General  Conference;  therefore,  if  all  the  bishops  believe  an  act  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  be  unconstitutional,  they  are  bound  to  submit  to  the 
superior  judgment  of  the  General  Conference  and  carry  the  act  or  resolu- 
tion into  effect." 

3.  A  decision  on  the  constitutionality  of  an  act  and  carrying  the  reso- 
lution into  effect  have  exclusive  reference  to  the  understanding  and  judg- 
ment of  the  executive,  conscience  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

Are  the  following  sentiments  [being  those  the  Bishop  had  expressed] 
correct?  If  not,  please  to  point  out  the  errors: 

1.  "The  executive  authority,  or  the  power  by  which  the  bishops  are  en- 
abled to  oversee  the  spiritual  anf  temporal  business  of  our  Church,  consists 
in  the  power  of  appointing  and  controlling  the  preachers,  especially  the 
presiding  elders." 

2.  The  suspended  resolutions  transfer  the  power  of  constituting  the 
presiding  elders  from  the  bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences  and  invest 
them  with  executive  authority. 

A  direct  and  plain  answer  will  oblige  your  old,  sincere,  and  aggrieved 
friend,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

P.  S.  — The  above  is  intended  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  confidence  and  brotherly  love. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  we  have  not  been  able  to  find  Dr. 
Emory's  reply  to  these  questions,  which  was  doubtless  alike 
honorable  to  his  head  and  his  heart.  We  know,  however,  that 
without  a  disavowal  on  the  part  of  either  of  them  of  the  senti- 
ments they  had  entertained,  their  former  intimacy  was  renewed 
and  that  their  mutual  esteem  continued  to  the  end  of  their  lives. 
Perhaps  the  crisis  which  had  then  arrived  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  and  which  tested  the  fealty  of  her  sons  hastened  a  re- 
union which  had  never  extended  to  a  loss  of  esteem.  In  that 
struggle  which  was,  even  in  1822,  already  beginning,  Dr. 
Emory,  with  many  others  who  had  differed  from  Bishop  McKen- 
dree and  the  majority  in  1820,  was  found  doing  valiant  and  ef- 
fective service  by  the  side  of  the  faithful  old  Bishop  in  endeav- 
oring to  preserve  the  Church  they  loved  from  the  evils  of  rad- 
icalism. The  writer  can  never  forget  the  effect  produced  upon 
the  General  Conference  and  an  immense  number  of  spectators 
by  the  reading  of  his  report  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Lay  Representation  at  the  session  of  1828.  It  was  a  masterly 
and  overwhelming  defense  of  our  economy.  Indeed,  so  clear, 
so  strong,  and  yet  so  kind  and  conciliatory  was  it,  that  the  Rev. 
Asa  Shinn,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  reformers,  rose  immediately 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

after  Dr.  Emory  had  closed  and  moved  its  adoption  and  the 
printing  of  five  thousand  copies.  It  is  due  also  to  others  to  say 
that  many  of  those  who,  with  Dr.  Emory,  had  favored  the 
adoption  of  the  suspended  resolutions,  were,  like  him,  found  to 
be  faithful  and  true  to  the  Church  in  the  day  of  her  trial.  And, 
in  the  language  of  his  biographer,  his  own  worthy  and  lamented 
son:  "When,  in  1832,  Bishop  KcKendree,  then  rapidly  hasten- 
ing to  the  termination  of  his  long  and  honorable  career,  learned 
that  Mr.  Emory  had  been  elected  as  his  colleague  in  the  epis- 
copate, he  sent  for  him  to  come  to  his  lodgings,  and,  as  he  en- 
tered the  room,  the  venerable  man,  rising  to  meet  him,  ex- 
claimed, 'Bishop  Emory,  John  Emory,  come  to  my  arms!'  and, 
with  an  affectionate  embrace,  welcomed  him  to  his  new  office." 

Bishop  McKendree  did  not  confound  the  advocates  of  the 
suspended  resolutions  with  radicals,  and  it  were  unjust  to  do  so. 

Dr.  Emory,  although  not  a  member  of  the  General  Conference 
of  1824,  was  its  Secretary,  and  was  elected  Book  Agent,  a  post 
which  he  filled  with  distinguished  success  until  he  was  made 
bishop  in  1832. 

Although  but  partially  known  at  the  South,  having  made  but 
one  tour  of  the  Southern  Conferences,  yet  such  was  the  high 
estimate  of  his  character  that  several  literary  institutions  in 
this  section  of  the  country  bear  his  name  and  many  a  sympa- 
thizing heart  mourned  over  his  untimely  death.  Indeed,  such 
was  the  influence  which  he  seemed  likely  to  obtain  over  the 
whole  Church  that  it  has  often  been  said  if  Bishop  Emory  and 
Dr.  Fisk  had  lived  until  1844  the  separation  of  the  Church 
might  not  then  have  occurred. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

General  Conference  of  1820 — Address  of  Bishop  McKendree — Authorized 
to  travel  at  his  discretion — A  bishop  to  be  elected — J.  Soule  elected — 
Presiding  elder  question — Positions  of  the  bishops — "Compromise"  or 
"peace  measure" — Soule  desires  leave  to  decline — McKendree's  state- 
ment— Facts — Powers  of  General  and  Annual  Conferences  and  bishops 
— Soule's  letter — Bishops  confer — Prepare  to  ordain  Soule — The  resolu- 
tions suspended — Bishop  McKendree's  appeal  to  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences— Precedent  for  it — Soule  declines — His  reasons — The  other  bish- 
ops to  do  the  work  next  four  years — Bishop  McKendree  troubled,  but 
resolves  to  do  what  he  can — Gets  to  Tennessee  Conference. 

THE  General  Conference  which  met  in  Baltimore  May  1, 1820, 
was  composed  of  eighty-nine  delegates  from  the  eleven  Annual 
Conferences  and  was  a  very  important  session.  By  the  meas- 
ures it  adopted,  it  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  educational  enter- 
prises of  the  Church,  organized  the  Missionary  Society,  estab- 
lished the  system  of  District  Conferences  for  local  preachers,  and, 
after  having  for  many  years  left  the  Annual  Conferences  to 
manage  the  subject  of  slavery  under  the  General  Rule  clause  as 
they  might  severally  think  best,  again  resumed  the  task  of  legis- 
lating for  the  whole  Church  upon  this  subject.  But  the  prin- 
cipal topic  of  excitement  was  the  presiding  elder  question  and 
the  consequences  growing  out  of  the  action  of  the  Conference 
upon  this  subject. 

The  Conference  was  opened  by  Bishop  McKendree  in  the 
usual  manner,  his  colleagues,  Bishops  George  and  Roberts,  be- 
ing present.  He  also  gave  a  written  address  stating  his  views 
of  the  condition  of  the  Church  and  suggesting  such  subjects  for 
their  consideration  as  he  deemed  the  interests  of  the  work  re- 
quired. Oral  communications  were  also  made  by  the  other 
bishops,  and  they  expressed  the  conviction  that  in  view  of  the 
declining  health  of  the  senior  bishop  and  the  great  extension  of 
the  work  the  episcopacy  should  be  strengthened  by  the  addition 
of  another  bishop.  Committees  were  accordingly  appointed 
to  consider  and  report  upon  the  various  important  themes  of 
their  addresses. 

Here  we  are  again  reminded  that  we  are  indebted  to  Bishop 
McKendree  for  the  custom  of  presenting  a  written  episcopal 
quadrennial  address  to  the  General  Conference  and  the  reference 


232  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  the  topics  contained  in  it  to  appropriate  committees,  a  course 
which  is  likely  to  be  followed. 

The  following  is  the  address  of  Bishop  McKendree,  a  copy  of 
which  Dr.  Bangs  says  he  regrets  he  was  not  able  to  find  and  is 
perhaps  the  only  copy  extant: 

To  the  General  Conference  to  be  held  in  Baltimore,  May,  1820. 

Dear  Brethren:  Through  sore  affliction  for  more  than  eighteen  months, 
my  regular  course  of  traveling  and  my  ministerial  labors  have  been  inter- 
rupted; but  in  the  deepest  bodily  distress  the  Lord  has  mercifully  sup- 
ported me,  and  by  his  graciously  supporting  hand  I  am  brought  to  see  the 
opening  of  another  General  Conference. 

So  far  as  I  can  judge  for  myself,  the  burden  which  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  bear  is  too  heavy  for  my  present  strength,  and  I  can  scarcely  hope 
that  I  shall  be  able  soon,  if  ever,  to  do  as  I  have  done.  I  am  disposed, 
however,  to  do  what  I  can. 

It  is  probable  that  excessive  labor  contributed  much  to  my  affliction. 

Friends  foresaw  and  premonished  me  of  the  danger;  but  I  acted  under  a 
sense  of  duty,  was  supported  by  a  pure  intention,  and  have  no  cause  to 
reproach  myself. 

I  am  deeply  sensible  of  my  lack  of  talents  to  render  the  service  which  so 
good  a  cause  and  the  important  station  to  which  I  am  appointed  continu- 
ally require,  and  I  am  well  prepared  to  submit  to  the  dispensation  in  hope 
of  seeing  the  mighty  task  more  amply  performed. 

Many  have  been  my  imperfections  and  errors;  and  no  doubt  I  should 
have  committed  more  but  for  the  aid  of  friends,  whose  council  came  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord.  For  well-timed  support,  as  well  as  for  the  comforts  re- 
ceived from  the  Lord  and  his  people,  I  desire  to  be  unfeignedly  thankful. 

As  my  labors  have  been  restricted,  my  knowledge  of  the  state  of  things 
in  many  places  must  be  imperfect.  To  my  worthy  colleages,  therefore, 
whose  privilege  it  has  been  to  travel  extensively,  I  must  look  to  supply 
the  deficiences  of  my  address. 

From  1784  to  1808  the  General  Conference  was  composed  of  all  the 
traveling  preachers  who  had  fulfilled  the  requisite  probation.  The  preach- 
ers, who  met  according  to  appointment,  whether  many  or  few,  considered 
themselves  invested  with  full  power  to  correct,  alter,  or  change  the  Disci- 
pline at  pleasure;  and  our  system  of  government  passed  the  scrutinizing  ex- 
amination of  five  such  Conferences. 

The  General  Conference  of  1808,  satisfied  with  the  principles  and  utility 
of  the  system,  constituted  a  delegated  Conference,  and  by  constitutional 
restrictions  ratified  and  perpetuated  our  system  of  doctrines  and  dicipline 
and  the  rights  and  privileges  of  all  the  preachers  and  members;  in  a  word, 
all  the  essential  parts  of  the  system  of  government.  It  is  presumed  that 
no  radical  change  can  be  made  for  the  better  at  present. 

An  important  advantage  resulting  from  the  present  state  of  things  is  the 
power  which,  through  the  responsibility  of  the  general  superintendents, 
the  General  Conference  derives  to  regulate  or  correct  an  improper  admin- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  233 

istration,  to  enforce  the  rules,  and  to  carry  the  whole  system  of  our  itiner- 
ant ministry  into  complete  effect.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  dictate  of 
wisdom  and  evinces  the  indispensable  necessity  of  an  effective  general 
superintendency. 

The  increase  since  the  last  General  Conference,  according  to  the  Min- 
utes, is  108  traveling  preachers  and  29,759  members,  probably  in  all  not 
less  than  3,800  traveling  and  local  preachers  and  240,924  members.  And 
eight  of  eleven  Annual  Conferences  have  produced  an  increase  of  69  travel- 
ing preachers  and  16,331  members  for  the  next  return. 

But  the  utility  of  our  ministry  and  plan  of  spreading  the  gospel  is  not 
confined  to  our  own  Church.  Our  example  and  labors  have  a  beneficial 
influence  upon  other  denominations.  It  must  be  admitted  that  many  who 
were  formerly  opposed,  not  only  to  our  traveling  ministry  and  the  doctrines 
which  are  denominated  Methodist  doctrines,  but  also  to  that  experimental 
and  practical  religion  which  is  supported  by  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit 
and  for  which  we  contend,  are  now  warm  advocates  for  missionary  preach- 
ers and  speak  favorably  of  virtue  and  piety  and  even  imitate  us  in  many 
things.  Thus  the  propriety  of  our  system  is  admitted,  and  in  this  I  do  re- 
joice and  will  rejoice. 

To  what  can  this  astonishing  change  be  attributed  with  more  proba- 
bility than  to  the  beneficial  influence  of  the  example  of  the  Methodist  min- 
istry on  other  denominations? 

Whilst  we  on  our  part  cheerfully  follow  the  laudable  activity  of  many 
who  are  engaged  in  the  important  work  of  obtaining  the  requisite  means 
and  of  instructing  the  ignorant,  let  us  carefully  guard  against  and  avoid  the 
destructive  doctrine  and  example  of  those  who  stop  short  of  experimental 
religion  and  who  content  themselves  with  literary  and  moral  attainments, 
who  have  not  that  faith  which  works  by  love  and  purifies  the  heart  and 
have  but  a  name  to  live  while  they  are  dead. 

To  you  who  observe  the  lives  of  professors  and  the  superficial  manner 
in  which  Christian  experience  is  treated  by  some  and  who  try  all  by  that 
saying,  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  this  will  not  appear  a  severe 
censure. 

The  influence  of  the  rich,  the  great,  the  learned,  the  powerful,  and  nu- 
merous friends,  who  have  embarked  in  the  defense  and  circulation  of  the 
Bible,  in  connection  with  missionaries,  to  bear  the  glad  tidings  to  the 
heathen  abroad  and  to  the  destitute  at  home,  at  once  confounds  the  op- 
poser  and  emboldens  the  feeble  advocate  of  truth. 

When  the  Church  is  thus  honored,  many  press  into  her  service  and  par- 
take of  her  advantages  without  counting  the  cost  or  partaking  of  her  real 
joys. 

The  desirable  intimacy  which  subsists  among  different  denominations, 
the  terms  of  admitting  persons  of  various  education  and  sentiments,  and 
the  danger  of  being  injured  by  the  influence  of  men,  especially  of  men  of 
the  world  professing  religion,  will  suggest  the  propriety  of  a  strict  exami- 
nation of  our  administration  both  as  it  respects  doctrines  and  discipline  and 
experimental  and  practical  religion. 


234  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

It  should  not  be  surprising  if  among  so  many  preachers  and  people  thus 
situated  you  will  find  a  deficiency  in  experimental  or  practical  religion  or 
in  the  use  of  the  means. 

Among  so  many,  should  some,  for  purposes  of  profit  or  ease  or  honor 
require,  as  in  days  of  old,  an  injurious  change  in  our  well-tried  and  ap- 
proved system  of  government,  their  misguided  wishes,  it  is  hoped,  will  be 
overruled  by  your  wisdom  and  prudence  to  whose  patronage  this  inval- 
uable treasure  is  so  confidently  committed. 

"God  forbid,"  said  St.  Paul,  "that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me  and  I  unto 
the  world."  Influenced  by  this  principle,  we  may  desire  the  best  gifts 
and  ought  to  support  profitable  offices. 

An  effective  general  superintendency  is  essentially  necessary  to  our 
itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the  gospel.  One  of  your  superintendents  is 
unable  to  do  the  work  of  an  effective  man;  you  will  therefore  see  the  pro- 
priety of  strengthening  the  episcopacy. 

Your  attention  is  called  to  the  rule  which  at  the  last  General  Conference 
was  formed  to  prevent  the  distilling  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  it  may  be 
proper  for  you  to  examine  our  relation  to  the  subject  of  slavery,  particu- 
larly in  reference  to  the  transfer  of  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  buying  and  selling  of  slaves. 

The  regulations  which  concern  the  state  of  our  meetinghouses  may  like- 
wise need  your  attention. 

To  perpetuate  a  living  and  respectable  ministry,  both  traveling  and 
local,  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  More  attention  to  the  qualifications 
of  candidates  for  the  local  as  well  as  the  traveling  ministry,  by  examina- 
tion before  a  judicious  committee  or  by  other  means,  might  have  a  good 
effect. 

The  acquisition  of  territory,  the  extension  of  settlements,  and  the  form- 
ing of  new  circuits  may  call  your  attention  to  the  boundary  lines  of  some  of 
the  Conferences. 

Perhaps  we  have  not  paid  sufficient  attention  to  the  voice  of  Providence 
calling  to  a  more  general  as  well  as  a  more  detached  spread  of  the  gospel 
among  the  Indians  and  among  the  destitute  of  our  cities  and  of  many  re- 
mote and  scattered  settlements.  The  means  have  always  been  within  our 
reach,  as  appears  from  the  success  of  mite  collections,  of  town  and  country 
missions,  and  of  missionary  and  Bible  societies — all  of  which  are  but  im- 
provements on  Mr.  Wesley's  system  of  penny  collections  for  the  spread  of 
the  gospel.  At  this  moment  your  attention  is  emphatically  called  to  this 
subject  by  an  address  from  the  Wyandotte  Indians  requesting  us  to  send 
missionaries  among  them,  by  the  wants  of  thousands  of  uninstructed  souls 
in  the  cities,  towns,  and  cottages  of  our  widely  extended  country,  and  by 
societies  already  formed  with  a  design  to  raise  money  for  such  purposes. 

Our  children,  who  are  partially  instructed,  and  the  thousands  of  unin- 
structed children,  who,  though  not  of  us,  yet  are  completely  within  our 
reach,  have  an  undoubted  claim  on  our  attention.  Great  and  wonderful 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  235 

things  might  be  done  for  the  rising  generation  by  a  strict,  consistent,  and 
persevering  attention. 

Had  we  an  enlarged  and  doctrinal  catechism  and  were  this  duly  used  to 
train  the  children  of  the  Methodists  so  as  to  establish  them  in  the  religion 
of  their  fathers;  were  proper  pains  taken  to  invite  the  children  of  those  who 
constitute  our  congregations  to  partake  of  these  benefits;  were  families 
more  diligently  sought  out  by  our  preachers,  class  leaders,  and  active 
young  men  and  women  and  solicited  to  unite  in  the  good  work  of  saving 
their  children — by  these  and  such  like  means  as  your  wisdom  under  God 
may  devise,  the  rising  generation  may  be  made  early  to  see  the  danger  and 
vanity  of  the  wealth  and  splendor  of  the  world  and  to  appreciate  the  dignity 
and  happiness  of  true  godliness  and  intellectual  worth.  The  children  of  the 
Methodists  would  no  more  withdraw  from  the  good  cause  of  God  to  lend 
their  influence  to  support  institutions  and  opinions  from  which  their  an- 
cestors thought  it  their  duty  to  retire;  and  many  who  without  this  care 
might  become  the  curse  of  their  country  would  be  raised  up  to  be  strong 
pillars  in  the  house  of  God. 

The  "Life  of  Bishop  Asbury,"  which,  in  consequence  of  affliction  and 
a  press  of  business,  was  not  proposed  to  the  last  General  Conference,  is 
now  in  a  state  of  forwardness  and  is  recommended  to  your  patronage. 

Accept,  dear  brethren,  the  affectionate  assurance  of  my  love  in  the  gos- 
pel, and  my  fervent  prayers  for  your  prosperity  and  peace. 

W.  MCKENDREE. 

The  Committee  on  the  Episcopacy  brought  forward  a  re- 
port pretty  early  in  the  session  approving  the  administration 
of  the  bishops  during  the  past  four  years,  and  adding: 

"In  relation  to  strengthening  the  episcopacy,  they  have  re- 
garded with  deep  and  affectionate  concern  the  declining  health 
and  strength  of  our  senior  superintendent.  Worn  down  by 
long,  extensive,  and  faithful  labors  in  the  service  of  God  and 
the  Church,  your  committee  feel  a  solicitude  which  they  doubt 
not  is  equally  felt  by  the  Conference  that  every  practicable  pro- 
vision may  be  made  for  his  relief  and  comfort,  hoping  by  a  pru- 
dent relaxation  from  labor  for  a  time  the  Church  may  yet  be 
blessed  with  the  benefit  of  his  very  desirable  services  and  coun- 
sel." 

Dr.  Bangs  adds:  "Whereupon  the  following  resolutions  were 
submitted  by  the  committee,  and  concurred  in  by  the  Con- 
ference: 

" '  1.  That  it  is  the  wish  and  desire  of  this  General  Conference 
that  Bishop  McKendree,  during  his  afflictions  and  debility, 
should  travel  in  such  directions  and  remain  in  such  places  as  he 
may  judge  most  conducive  to  his  own  health.and  comfort,  and 


236  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

that  he  be  accordingly,  at  the  close  of  the  Conference,  respect- 
fully and  affectionately  requested  so  to  do. 

"'2.  That  whenever  Bishop  McKendree  shall  think  himself 
able,  it  is  the  desire  of  this  Conference  that  he  should  continue, 
so  far  as  his  health  will  permit,  the  exercise  of  his  episcopal 
functions  and  superintending  care. 

"  '3.  That  the  committee  appointed  by  the  last  General  Con- 
ference to  make  provision  for  the  families  of  the  bishops  are 
hereby  continued,  and  that  the  same  committee  be  directed  to 
take  into  consideration  the  present  state  of  Bishop  McKendree's 
health  and  to  provide  for  defraying  any  extra  expenses  which, 
in  their  judgment,  his  afflictions  may  make  requisite.'" 

These  resolutions,  so  expressive  of  sympathy  and  affectionate 
esteem,  were  duly  appreciated  by  the  Bishop,  and  were  remem- 
bered with  grateful  feelings  in  many  an  hour  of  subsequent 
suffering.  They  were  as  honorable  to  the  Conference  as  they 
were  kind  and  complimentary  to  him. 

This  committee  further  reported,  on  May  9,  that  (in  view  of 
the  declining  health  of  the  senior  bishop  and  the  increase  of  trav- 
el and  labor  which  would  devolve  upon  the  superintendents) 
"it  is  expedient  that  one  additional  general  superintendent  be 
elected  and  ordained  at  this  General  Conference,"  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Conference.  And  it  was  on  "Saturday  morn- 
ing, May  13,  moved,  etc.,  that  the  Conference  will  now  pro- 
ceed to  the  election  of  a  general  superintendent.  Carried.  Re- 
solved, etc.,  that  before  we  proceed  to  act  on  the  above  reso- 
lution, the  Conference  go  to  prayer.  Carried.  Brother  Gar- 
rettson  gave  out  a  few  verses  of  a  hymn  and  then  prayed.  The 
roll  was  called  to  ascertain  who  was  absent,  and  it  appeared 
that  the  only  one  absent  was  Loring  Grant,  who  was  sick.  In 
conducting  the  election,  two  persons — viz.,  S.  G.  Roszel  and  D. 
Ostrander —  were  appointed  to  receive  the  votes.  On  receiving 
and  counting  the  votes,  it  appeared  that  there  were  88  votes,  and 
that  Joshua  Soule  of  this  number  had  47  votes;  Nathan  Bangs 
had  38.  There  were  three  scattering  votes.  Joshua  Soule  was 
declared  duly  elected  to  the  office  of  Bishop." l 

The  events  which  followed  almost  immediately  upon  this 
election  were  so  important  in  themselves  and  so  connected  with 
Bishop  McKendree's  life  that  his  biographer  hopes  to  be  ex- 
cused for  narrating  them  with  more  than  ordinary  minuteness 
and  detail.  His  authorities  for  his  statements  are  reliable  man- 
uscripts and  published  documents. 

1Extracts  from  the  Journal. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  237 

Before  the  Conference  had  elected  the  bishop,  the  presiding 
elder  question,  as  it  is  called,  had  been,  as  usual,  introduced. 
From  the  very  organization  of  the  Church  there  had  always 
been  some  members  in  every  General  Conference  who  were  de- 
sirous of  modifying  or  taking  away  altogether  the  power  of 
stationing  the  preachers  by  the  bishops.  Mr.  O'Kelly's  seces- 
sion turned,  professedly,  upon  the  rejection  of  his  motion  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1792  to  give  every  preacher  an  appeal 
to  his  Annual  Conference  from  the  appointment  of  the  bishop. 
In  1800  attempts  were  made  to  restrict  the  power  of  the  bishops. 
In  1808,  as  we  have  seen,  while  the  constitution  of  the  dele- 
gated General  Conference  was  under  consideration,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  render  the  office  of  presiding  elder  elective  by  the 
Annual  Conferences.  At  the  General  Conference  of  1812, 
this  question  was  brought  forward  by  a  member  of  the  New 
York  Conference,  and  all  the  delegates  from  the  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Genesee  Conferences  voted  for  it.  The  ma- 
jority against  it  was  greatly  reduced,  being  only  three,  the 
Southern  and  Western  Conferences  having  defeated  it.  "In 
1816,  the  same  fate  attended  a  similar  motion,  although  one  of 
the  bishops  (George)  elected  at  that  Conference  was  known  to 
be  favorable  to  the  proposed  change  in  the  mode  of  selecting 
the  presiding  elders." '  The  plan  of  1816  was  that  the  bishop 
should  nominate  and  the  Conference  elect.  If  the  nominee  of 
the  bishop  should  be  rejected,  he  was  to  nominate  two  others, 
one  of  whom  the  Conference  should  appoint.  Those  thus  ap- 
pointed were  to  remain  in  office  four  years,  unless  dismissed  by 
the  mutual  consent  of  the  Conference  and  the  bishop.  The  pre- 
siding elders,  moreover,  were  to  constitute  a  council  to  assist 
the  bishop  in  stationing  the  preachers.  This  was  rejected  by  a 
vote  of  38  ayes  and  63  nays. 

"Early  in  the  second  week  of  the  General  Conference  of  1820, 
T.  Merritt,  of  New  England,  seconded  by  B.  Waugh,  of  Balti- 
more, moved  so  to  amend  the  Discipline  that  the  answer  to  the 
first  question  in  Section  5  of  Chapter  I,  'By  whom  are  the  presid- 
ing elders  to  be  chosen? '  should  read  as  follows : '  Ans.  By  the  Con- 
ferences.' After  considerable  discussion  (twenty-one  speaking, 
thirteen  in  favor  of  the  motion),  Ezekiel  Cooper  moved  that  it 
lie  on  the  table,  to  bring  forward  one  that  he  supposed  would 
be  accommodating  to  both  parties,  which  was  that  the  bishops 
should  nominate  three  times  the  number  of  presiding  elders 
wanted,  out  of.  which  number  the  Conference  should  choose 

l"Bangs's  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  II,  p.  333. 


238  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

or  elect  the  number  necessary.  After  considerable  debate,  a 
motion  was  brought  forward  by  William  Capers,  seconded  by 
N.  Bangs,  that  a  committee  consisting  of  three  from  each  side 
should  be  appointed,  to  confer  with  the  bishops  on  the  subject. 
This  motion  prevailed;  the  committee  was  appointed,  Bishop 
George  then  in  the  chair.  On  the  side  of  the  alteration  in  the 
government  Ezekiel  Cooper,  John  Emory,  and  Nathan  Bangs 
were  appointed.  On  the  side  of  our  present  form  of  government 
S.  G.  Roszel,  Joshua  Wells,  and  W.  Capers  were  appointed. 

"The  committee  met  the  bishops,  and  after  conferring  with 
them,  came  to  no  agreement,  but  appointed  to  meet  next  morn- 
ing. Roszel,  Wells,  Bangs,  and  Capers  were  in  time,  the  others 
not  appearing,  nothing  was  done.  When  the  Conference  ad- 
journed, at  twelve  o'clock,  Bishop  George  desired  the  committee 
to  meet  him  in  the  gallery  of  the  Eutaw  Church.  We  met  ac- 
cordingly. Mr.  Cooper,  in  bringing  forward  his  motion,  had  ob- 
served it  met  with  his  (the  Bishop's)  approbation,  and,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  said,  in  fact,  it  was  the  Bishop's  motion.  Mr. 
Merritt  then  stated  that  he  held  in  his  hand  a  note  from  Bishop 
George,  stating  that  all  hope  of  an  accommodation  was  at  an 
end.  Some  on  the  old  side  felt  their  minds  afflicted,  considering 
themselves  forsaken  by  Bishop  George.  In  the  gallery,  he 
went  into  an  explanation,  which,  as  it  respected  the  note  men- 
tioned by  Brother  Merritt,  appeared  different  from  the  views 
it  presented  when  Merritt  mentioned  it,  but  stated  he  was  in 
favor  of  the  accommodating  plan,  and  that  he  could  not  see  the 
principle  was  affected  or  changed  by  its  adoption.  After  con- 
siderable details,  in  which  Mr.  Cooper  stated  he  understood 
him  correctly,  and  cordially  agreed  with  him,  S.  G.  Roszel  ob- 
served, after  all  that  was  said,  he  must  confess  he  did  not  under- 
stand him,  and  wished  him  to  be  so  minute  in  detail  that  he 
could  not  be  misunderstood,  and  asked  Bishop  George, '  Do  you 
mean  that  if  six  more  presiding  elders  are  wanted,  you  are  to 
nominate  three  times  the  number  and  the  Conference  to  elect 
or  choose  out  of  that  number?  or  do  you  mean  that  you  nom- 
inate three,  and  the  Conference  choose  one  out  of  the  three 
nominated,  until  the  number  necessary  be  obtained?'  He  re- 
plied that  that  was  his  meaning — i.  e.,  the  last-named  plan. 
On  that  principle  the  committee  united,  those  members  in  favor 
of  the  old  rules  having  assurances  that  nothing  more  would  be 
required.  The  report  was  written  by  John  Emory  and  signed 
by  all  the  members,  and  at  the  afternoon  sitting  was  brought 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  239 

forward  and  passed  by  Conference,  61,  I  think,  voting  for  it." x 
The  following  is  the  report  mentioned  above: 

TUESDAY,  May  19,  3  O' Clock. 

The  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the  bishops  on  a  plan  to  con- 
ciliate the  wishes  of  the  brethren  on  the  subject  of  choosing  presiding  elders 
recommend  to  the  Conference  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions, 
to  be  inserted  in  their  proper  place  in  the  Discipline: 

Resolved,  That  whenever,  in  any  Annual  Conference,  there  shall  be  a 
vacancy  or  vancancies  in  the  office  of  presiding  elder  in  consequence  of  his 
period  of  service  of  four  years  having  expired  or  the  bishop  wishing  to  re- 
move any  presiding  elder,  or  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  the  bishop 
or  president  of  the  Conference,  having  ascertained  the  number  wanted 
from  any  of  these  causes,  shall  nominate  three  times  the  number,  out  of 
which  the  Conference  shall  elect  by  ballot,  without  debate,  the  number 
wanted;  provided,  that  when  there  are  more  than  one  wanted,  not  more 
than  three  at  a  time  shall  be  nominated  nor  more  than  one  at  a  time  shall 
be  elected;  provided  also,  that  in  case  of  any  vacancy  or  vacancies  in  the 
office  of  presiding  elder  in  the  interval  of  any  Annual  Conference,  the  bish- 
ops shall  have  authority  to  fill  such  vacancy  or  vacancies  until  the  ensuing 
Annual  Conference. 

Resolved,  That  the  presiding  elders  be,  and  they  hereby  are,  made  the 
advisory  council  of  the  bishop  or  bishops,  or  president  of  the  Conference, 
in  stationing  the  preachers. 

EZEKIEL  COOPER,  J.  WELLS, 
STEPHEN  G.  ROSZEL,  J.  EMORY, 
N.  BANGS,  WILLIAM  CAPERS. 

"Great  joy  was  expressed  at  this  union.  All  now  were  in  fel- 
lowship, if  words  could  be  taken  as  evidence.  Many  in  favor 
of  the  old  rule  did  not  vote  for  it,  and,  being  very  uneasy,  wished 
it  reconsidered. 

"A  few  days  afterwards,  Bishop  McKendree  came  forward 
and  stated  his  objections  to  the  rule  adopted,  and  had  read  in 
the  Conference  a  letter  from  Joshua  Soule,  bishop  elect.  To 
the  sentiments  of  Bishop  McKendree  and  Mr.  Soule  those  in 
favor  of  a  change  took  exceptions,  held  a  caucus  without  con- 
sulting those  not  in  favor  of  the  change,  and  agreed  to  arrest 
the  ordination  of  J.  Soule.  Those  originally  in  favor  of  the  old 
rule  (but  who  had  agreed  to  the  compromise  for  the  sake  of 
peace  and  union)  considered  themselves  no  longer  bound  by 
any  agreement  on  accommodation  measures.  A  motion  was 
made  to  reconsider  the  vote  on  the  election  of  presiding  elders, 
and  while  this  was  under  consideration,  J.  Soule,  understanding 

lExtracts  from  a  manuscript,  "  Statement  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1820,  by  a  Member." 


240  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

he  was  to  be  publicly  opposed,  came  forward  and  by  letter  asked 
liberty  to  resign.  The  subject  of  his  resignation  was  taken  up, 
and,  at  the  instance  of  S.  G.  Roszel,  it  was  postponed  until 
next  morning.  On  the  motion  before  mentioned,  to  reconsider, 
there  was  a  tie  vote — 43  to  43 — Bishop  Roberts  refusing  to  give 
the  casting  vote. 

"A  motion  was  then  brought  forward  to  suspend  the  reso- 
lutions making  the  presiding  elders  elective  until  the  next  Gen- 
eral Conference.  This  motion  prevailed — 45  for,  and  34  against 
it. 

"Brother  Soule's  resignation  was  then  taken  up,  and  'S.  G. 
Roszel  moved  that  Brother  Soule  be,  and  hereby  is,  respectfully 
requested  to  withdraw  his  resignation,  and  submit  to  the  wishes 
of  his  brethren  in  being  ordained  a  bishop.'  This  prevailed,  49 
voting  for  it.  When  this  was  stated  by  Bishop  George  to  J. 
Soule,  he  still  stated  his  wish  to  resign;  upon  which  James  Quinn 
remarked,  'We  cannot  accept  or  receive  his  resignation';  and 
no  vote  was  taken  on  it.  Permission,  therefore,  was  not  given 
him  by  vote  of  the  Conference  to  resign.  Of  course  he  stands 
bishop  elect. 

"After  Brother  Soule's  wish  to  resign,  Bishop  George  ob- 
served to  S.  G.  Roszel,  privately,  that  the  Conference  must 
elect  another  bishop,  for  they  could  not  cover  the  work,  Bishop 
McKendree  not  being  effective.  S.  G.  Roszel  replied  that  we, 
the  majority,  will  vote  for  no  one  but  Brother  Soule.  Then, 
said  Bishop  George,  you  will  compel  us  to  resign.  The  reply 
was:  'We  had  rather  have  no  bishop  than  one  we  cannot  confide 
in.'  On  Friday  before  the  Conference  adjourned,  Bishop  George 
observed  to  S.  G.  Roszel  that  Brother  Soule  would  now  serve; 
that  he  believed  many  of  the  minority  would  vote  for  him;  that 
he  had  been  talking  with  Bangs  and  Redding.  Bishop  George 
then  notified  the  Conference  that  they  must  meet  next  morning 
and  elect  a  bishop,  and  that  he  could  be  ordained  the  Sabbath 
following.  That  evening  the  minority  had  a  meeting,  and 
came  to  a  determination  to  address  Bishops  George  and  Roberts, 
requesting  them  to  decline  having  another  bishop  appointed. 
This  address  Bishop  Roberts  showed  to  S.  G.  Roszel  after  the 
Conference  adjourned.  On  Saturday  morning,  when  the  Con- 
ference had  met,  Bishop  George  stated  that,  as  it  was  a  late  pe- 
riod of  the  session,  and  the  minds  of  some  were  much  afflicted, 
they  had  thought  proper  to  advise  not  to  elect  a  bishop  at  this 
time,  but  the  majority  could  do  as  they  thought  proper.  Broth- 
ers Capers  and  Wells  brought  forward  a  motion  to  elect  a  bishop, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  241 

etc.;  but,  after  some  observations  made  by  Bishop  George,  it 
was  withdrawn.  S.  G.  Roszel  renewed  it.  Bishop  George  beck- 
oned him  to  come  to  him  in  the  altar,  and  asked  him  to  with- 
draw it,  that  the  minority  would  not  agree  to  it,  or  would  break 
off,  or  something  to  that  effect.  It  was  withdrawn." 1 

The  above  statement  was  made  for  the  information  of  Bishop 
McKendree,  who,  as  will  appear,  was  unwell  and  out  of  the  city. 
The  author  was  not  only  a  member  of  the  Conference,  but  of  the 
committee  who  conferred  with  the  bishops  and  reported  the 
resolutions,  which  afterwards  were  known  as  the  suspended  res- 
olutions. The  reader  will  readily  identify  him;  and,  of  course, 
his  statement  is  reliable.  Bishop  McKendree  filed  it  away  and 
kept  it  very  carefully. 

We  subjoin  the  following  statement  from  Bishop  McKendree's 
Journal,  in  reference  to  these  transactions: 

"The  superintendents  requested  the  General  Conference  to 
give  them  the  assistance  of  another  bishop.  The  request  was 
granted,  the  Rev.  Joshua  Soule  was  elected,  and  the  day  of  his 
consecration  was  fixed  by  the  bishops,  and  announced  in  the 
Conference.  On  account  of  his  health,  the  senior  bishop  then 
went  into  the  country  until  the  time  should  arrive.  After  this, 
the  question  of  transferring  the  power  of  appointing  the  pre- 
siding elders  from  the  bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences  was 
taken  up  and  warmly  discussed.  This  would  so  manifestly 
effect  a  radical  change  in  our  system  of  government  that  it  be- 
came pretty  evident  the  motion  would  be  lost;  yet  the  debate 
was  protracted  until  the  time  fixed  for  the  consecration  was 
fast  approaching.  The  bishop  elect  was  known  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  constitutional  system  of  government.  When  the  senior 
returned,  in  expectation  of  attending  to  the  ordination,  he  was 
informed  that  Bishop  George  had  postponed  it,  and  consequent- 
ly preparation  for  the  ordination  had  not  been  made.  At  this 
late  hour  the  Conference  appointed  a  committee  to  consult 
with  the  bishops  on  this  momentous  subject.  The  bishop  elect 
was  precluded  from  this  consultation  by  the  delicacy  of  his  po- 
sition. The  senior  bishop  disapproved  of  the  proposed  change; 
the  other  two  were  favorable  to  some  change,  the  extent  not 
pointed  out.  At  the  adjournment  of  the  first  session  of  the  Con- 
ference on  the  next  day,  Bishop  George  invited  the  committee 
who  had  waited  on  the  bishops,  consisting  of  three  from  each 
side,  to  meet  him.  In  this  meeting  the  proposition  before  the 

^Extract  from  a  manuscript  "  Statement  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1820,  by  a  Member." 

16 


242  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Conference  was  so  changed  as  to  authorize  the  bishops,  when  a 
presiding  elder  should  be  wanted,  to  nominate  three  persons, 
one  of  whom  should  be  chosen  presiding  elder  by  the  Conference." 

When  the  Conference  met  again,  the  long-protracted  sub- 
ject was  presented  in  this  new  dress  as  "a  compromise,"  "a 
peace  measure,"  and  with  but  little  if  any  examination  was 
passed. 

This  decision  seriously  affected  the  senior  bishop;  forasmuch 
as  he  did  conscientiously  believe  that  it  was  a  violation  of  the 
constitution,  that  a  principle  was  ceded  by  virtue  of  which  the 
members  of  the  Church  might  be  deprived  of  their  constitu- 
tional rights,  and  the  itinerant  system  of  government  entirely 
changed  contrary  to  the  constitution. 

Originally,  the  itinerant  preachers  exercised  unrestricted  pow- 
ers; but  they  saw  proper,  in  their  wisdom,  to  constitute  a  dele- 
gated General  Conference,  invested  with  such  powers  as  the 
preachers  collectively  deemed  necessary  to  perform  the  duties 
assigned  it.  Their  powers  were  expressed.  What  is  not  expressed 
is,  consequently,  withheld.  From  the  same  authority  the  bishops 
derive  their  powers  and  the  preachers  and  members  their  rights 
and  privileges.  And  by  virtue  of  the  same  authority,  arising 
out  of  our  compact,  the  powers  and  rights  of  the  delegated 
Conference,  the  bishops,  the  preachers,  and  the  members  are 
secured  by  "the  Limitations  and  Restrictions,"  otherwise  called 
the  Constitution  of  our  Church. 

By  the  same  authority — i.  e.,  the  convention  of  the  preachers 
in  1808 — the  bishops  were  made  amenable  to  the  General  Con- 
ference for  their  conduct  as  general  superintendents  for  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Church.  To  discharge  the 
duties  assigned  them  and  stand  justly  amenable  as  overseers, 
they  are  authorized  to  choose  the  presiding  elders,  to  appoint  the 
preachers  to  their  work,  "and,  in  the  intervals  of  the  Con- 
ference, to  change,"  etc.  But  the  delegated  Conference,  by 
these  resolutions,  attempted: 

1.  To  divest  the  bishops  of  a  power  which  they  held  by  the 
same  authority  which  created  that  body  and  conferred  its  pow- 
ers. 

2.  To  invest  the  bishops  with  power  to  nominate  persons  for 
presiding  elders. 

3.  To  invest  the  Annual  Conferences  with  power  to  elect  pre- 
siding elders,  all  of  which  are  unknown  to  our  form  of  Discipline, 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  and  to  Episcopal  Methodism. 

It  follows,  from  our  view  of  this  subject: 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  243 

1.  That  by  the  same  authority  by  which  the  Conferences 
divest  the  bishops  of  the  right  of  choosing  the  presiding  elders, 
they  may  deprive  the  preachers  and  members  of  their  rights  of 
trial  and  appeal,  etc.,  and  of  any  of  their  privileges  as  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

2.  As  the  General  Conference  assumed  the  power  to  give  the 
bishops  the  right  to  nominate  and  the  Annual  Conferences  the 
authority  to  elect  the  presiding  elders,  they  might  take  away  what 
they  had  conferred  and  thereby  paralyze  the  itinerant  system. 

3.  As  the  bishops  alone  are  responsible  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, and  as  the  power  to  perform  their  duties  consists  main- 
ly in  appointing  and  changing  the  preachers,  this  resolution 
would  deprive  the  General  Conference  of  the  power  of  carrying 
their  own  "rules  and  regulations"  into  effect,  because  they 
could  not  justly  hold  the  bishops  accountable  for  the  work  after 
having  divested  them  of  the  power  to  perform  it. 

4.  It  manifestly  appeared  to  be  an  act  of  usurped  authority 
likely  to  involve  a  train  of  alarming  consequences. 

Under  this  state  of  things  the  senior  bishop  drew  up  the 
following  as  his  view  of  the  subject,  intending,  at  a  suitable 
time,  to  read  it  to  the  Conference: 

BALTIMORE,  May  22,  1820. 

To  the  bishops  and  General  Conference,  now  in  session. 

On  Saturday  evening  I  received  a  copy  of  the  resolution  which  passed 
on  the  nineteenth  instant,  which,  contrary  to  the  established  order  of  our 
Church,  authorizes  the  Annual  Conference  to  elect  the  presiding  elders, 
and  thereby  transfers  the  executive  authority  from  the  general  superin- 
tendents to  the  Annual  Conferences  and  leaves  the  bishops  divested  of 
their  power  to  oversee  the  business  under  the  full  responsibility  of  general 
superintendents.  I  extremely  regret  that  you  have,  by  this  measure,  re- 
duced me  to  the  painful  necessity  of  pronouncing  the  resolution  unconsti- 
tutional, and,  therefore  destitute  of  the  proper  authority  of  the  Church. 

While  I  am  firmly  bound,  by  virtue  of  my  office,  to  see  that  all  the  rules 
are  properly  enforced,  I  am  equally  bound  to  prevent  the  imposition  of 
that  which  is  not  properly  rule.  Under  the  influence  of  this  sentiment, 
and  considering  the  importance  of  the  subject,  I  enter  this  protest. 

If  the  delegated  Conference  has  a  right  in  one  case  to  impose  rules  con- 
trary to  the  constitution  which  binds  hundreds  of  preachers  and  thousands 
of  members  in  Christian  fellowship  and  on  which  their  own  existence  and 
the  validity  of  their  acts  depend,  why  may  not  the  same  right  exist  in 
another?  why  not  in  all  cases?  If  the  right  of  infringing  the  constitution 
is  admitted,  what  will  secure  the  rights  and  privileges  of  preachers  and 
people,  together  with  the  friends  of  the  Church?  If  the  constitution  can- 
not protect  the  executive  authority,  in  vain  may  the  moneyed  institution 
and  individual  rights  call  for  help  from  that  source. 


244  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Believing,  as  I  do,  that  this  resolution  is  unauthorized  by  the  constitu- 
tion, and  therefore  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  rule  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  I  consider  myself  under  no  obligation  to  enforce  or  to  enjoin  it  on 
others  to  do  so. 

I  present  this  as  the  expression  of  my  attachment  to  the  constitution 
and  government  of  the  Church  and  of  my  sincere  desire  to  preserve  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  whole  body. 

Your  worn-down  and  afflicted  friend, 

W.  MCKENDREE. 

. 

Shortly  before  this  document  was  finished,  Bishop  Roberts 
entered  his  room  and  presented  him  with  a  paper  from  the  bish- 
op elect,  addressed  to  Bishops  George  and  Roberts.  Bishop 
Roberts  thought  that  the  bishop  elect  was  not  disposed  to  sub- 
mit to  the  authority  of  the  General  Conference.  The  other 
(Bishop  McKendree)  thought  that  such  a  sentiment  would  form 
a  serious  objection  to  his  ordination,  but  did  not  think  it  was 
expressed  in  the  document  or  held  by  the  writer.  "It  was 
agreed  that  Bishop  Roberts  should  see  Brother  Soule,  and  re- 
port at  a  meeting  of  the  bishops  to  be  held  next  morning.  Soule 
disavowed  the  sentiment  which  the  letter  was  supposed  to  con- 
tain, and  stated  his  views  on  the  back  of  the  letter  in  terms  too 
plain  to  be  misunderstood." 

The  following  is  the  original  letter,  and  postscript  on  the 
back  of  it,  alluded  to  by  Bishop  McKendree  above: 

Dear  Bishops:  In  consequence  of  an  act  of  the  General  Conference, 
passed  this  day,  in  which  I  conceive  the  constitution  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  violated  and  that  episcopal  government,  which  has 
heretofore  distinguished  her,  greatly  enervated,  by  a  transfer  of  executive 
power  from  the  episcopacy  to  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  it  becomes 
my  duty  to  notify  you,  from  the  imposition  of  whose  hands  only  I  can  be 
qualified  for  the  office  of  superintendent,  that  under  the  existing  state  of 
things  /  cannot,  consistently  with  my  convictions  of  propriety  and  obligation, 
enter  upon  the  work  of  an  itinerant  general  superintendent. 

I  was  elected  under  the  constitution  and  government  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  unimpaired.  On  no  other  consideration  but  that  of  their 
continuance  would  I  have  consented  to  be  considered  a  candidate  for  a  re- 
lation in  which  were  incorporated  such  arduous  labors  and  awful  respon- 
sibilities. 

I  do  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  wrest  myself  from  your  hands,  as  the 
act  of  the  General  Conference  has  placed  me  in  them;  but  /  solemnly  de- 
clare, and  could  appeal  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  for  the  sincerity  of  my  inten- 
tion, that  I  cannot  act  as  superintendent  under  the  rules  this  day  made  and  es- 
tablished by  the  General  Conference. 

With  this  open  and  undisguised  declaration  before  you,  your  wisdom 
will  dictate  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  245 

I  ardently  desire  peace,  and  if  it  will  tend  to  promote  it,  am  willing,  per- 
fectly willing,  that  my  name  should  rest  in  forgetfulness. 

I  remain,  with  sentiments  of  unfeigned  affection  and  esteem,  your  son 
and  servant  in  the  gospel  Christ,  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

BALTIMORE,  May  18,  1820. 

P.  S.  — At  the  special  request  of  Bishop  McKendree,  I  hereby  certify 
that  in  the  above  statement  I  mean  no  more  than  I  cannot,  consistently 
with  my  views  of  propriety  and  responsibility,  administer  that  part  of  the 
government  particularly  embraced  in  the  act  of  the  General  Conference 
above  mentioned.  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

It  is  not  a  little  surprising  that  this  document,  so  character- 
istic of  the  author's  candor,  conscientiousness,  and  firmness, 
should  have  been  imagined  to  indicate  disloyalty  to  the  del- 
egated Conference.  Fealty  to  the  constitution  and  an  honest 
and  manly  protest  against  its  violation  is  the  highest  evidence 
of  loyalty  to  the  Church  and  the  constitution.  This  communi- 
cation needed  no  "  P.  S."  It  is  a  monument  to  its  author. 

We  proceed  with  the  narration  of  the  events  which  followed 
the  presentation  of  the  above  communication,  as  stated  in 
Bishop  McKendree's  Journal,  and,  of  course,  in  his  own  hand- 
writing: 

"The  bishops  met  early  next  morning,  and  the  communica- 
tion was  attentively  considered.  It  appeared  that  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  bishop  elect  rested  entirely  upon  the  question  of  the 
constitutionality  of  the  resolutions;  and  it  was  proposed  for  the 
bishops  to  express  their  opinions  on  their  constitutionality. 
Bishop  Roberts  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  resolutions  of  the 
Conference  were  an  infringement  of  the  constitution.  Bishop 
George  chose  to  be  silent.  The  senior  bishop  considered  them 
unconstitutional.  The  next  question  was  the  propriety  of 
ordaining  the  bishop  elect  under  existing  circumstances.  It 
was  unanimously  agreed  that  he  should  be  ordained.  The  time 
was  agreed  upon,  and  Bishop  George  was  appointed  to  prepare 
the  credentials  and  to  preach  the  ordination  sermon.1  The  sen- 

'That  this  determination  to  ordain  him  was  not  conditional  is  positively 
asserted  by  Bishop  McKendree  and  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  all  the 
necessary  arrangements  were  agreed  upon  for  it.  Not  only  was  Bishop 
Roberts  to  take  the  chair  instead  of  Bishop  George,  in  order  that  Bishop 
George  might  prepare  to  preach  the  ordination  sermon  and  to  have  the 
credentials  got  ready,  but  the  Rev.  Thomas  Mason  left  the  Conference  at 
the  request  of  the  bishops  to  attend  to  the  business  of  having  the  parch- 
ment printed  and  prepared  for  the  occasion.  "He  completed  the  creden- 
tials, fixing  the  date  according  to  the  time  announced  by  Bishop  McKen- 
dree for  his  consecration,  and  Bishop  George  notified  the  bishop  elect  to  be 


246  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ior  bishop  then  suggested  the  propriety  of  informing  the  Con- 
ference of  the  state  of  things.  It  was  approved,  and  he  was  re- 
quested to  make  the  communication,  and  the  bishop  elect, 
having  been  informed  of  the  design,  approved  of  the  course. 
When  the  president,  Bishop  Roberts,  had  called  the  attention 
of  the  Conference,  the  senior  bishop  laid  the  case  before  them. 
The  letter  of  the  bishop  elect  to  the  bishop  was  read;  the  con- 
clusion of  the  council  of  the  bishops  and  their  resolution  to  or- 
dain Brother  Soule  were  stated,  as  well  as  an  intimation  of  their 
opinions  respecting  the  constitutional  difficulty.  The  senti- 
ments of  the  bishop  elect  having  been  prepared  and,  with  a  little 
modification,  having  been  read,  he  retired,  and  the  Conference 
resumed  its  business.  A  warm  contest  ensued.  The  bishop 
elect  was  attacked  in  different  ways  and  sorely  pressed,  so 
much  so,  that  at  length  he  asked  leave  to  decline  his  ordination. 
This  was  objected  to,  and  he  was  requested  to  withdraw  his  pe- 
tition by  a  larger  majority  than  that  by  which  he  had  been 
elected.  However,  after  a  tedious  and  painful  debate,  it  was 
announced  from  the  chair  that  it  was  accepted,  but  that  it  was 
accepted  by  a  vote  of  the  Conference  was  not  ascertained. 

"For  the  General  Conference  thus  to  attack  the  bishop  elect, 
and  for  the  president  to  suffer  him  to  be  pursued  in  this  way, 
appeared  to  the  senior  bishop  to  be  very  unfair.  The  Confer- 
ence, by  the  vote  of  a  respectable  majority,  had  put  him  into 

ready;  and  Bishop  George  certainly  would  not  have  done  all  this  ii  the  or- 
dination had  been  suspended  on  a  condition."  Again: "  The  Conference  did 
not  understand  the  ordination  to  have  any  conditional  reference  to  them, 
or  that  they  had  any  legislative  control  over  it;  therefore  a  protest  was 
contemplated,  perhaps  prepared,  to  be  presented  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
secration. While  these  things  were  going  on,  Bishops  George  and  Roberts, 
who  were  in  favor  of  carrying  the  resolutions  into  effect,  took  J.  Soule  with 
them  to  Bishop  McKendree's  room  in  order,  if  possible,  to  prevail  on  them — 
i.  e.,  McKendree  and  Soule — to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. The  senior  bishop  avowed  his  readiness  to  submit  to  the  author- 
ity of  the  General  Conference,  but  opposed  the  want  of  legitimate  author- 
ity as  his  objection  to  those  resolutions,  and,  addressing  Bishop  Roberts, 
said:  'You,  brother,  as  well  as  I,  believe  these  resolutions  an  infringement 
of  the  constitution.'  Such  an  appeal,  under  such  circumstances,  laid  the 
bishops,  especially  Bishop  Roberts,  under  an  imperious  obligation,  if  the 
statement  were  erroneous,  to  have  objected  to  it;  but  no  objection  was 
made.  A  silent  pause  ensued.  Since  this  interview,  Bishop  Roberts  has 
not  only  said  the  resolutions  are  an  infringement  of  the  constitution,  but 
that  by  them  'the  principle  was  ceded,'"  meaning  that  they  assumed  the 
principle  of  overriding  the  constitution  by  GeneralJDonference  legislation. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  247 

the  hands  of  the  bishop  for  ordination.    In  this  situation  he  cer- 
tainly had  a  right  to  address  a  letter  to  the  bishops,  and  when 
he  was  involved  in  difficulties  by  a  subsequent  act  of  the  Con- 
ference, he  certainly  acted  an  honorable  part  to  inform  them  of 
his  difficulties  prior  to  his  ordination  and  thereby  put  it  in  their 
power  to  guard  against  future  difficulties.    For  this  letter  and 
its  contents  Brother  Soule  was  accountable  to  the  bishops,  not 
to  the  Conference.    Had  the  bishops  judged  his  conduct  un- 
worthy of  the  trust  confided  to  him  by  his  election,  they  would 
have  returned  him  to  the  Conference  with  their  objections  to 
his  ordination.    This  would  have  brought  him  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Conference  so  far  as  to  reconsider  and  rescind 
their  vote  or  confirm  it  and  order  his  consecration.    But  in- 
stead of  this,  after  a  formal  examination  of  the  subject,  they — 
i.  e.,  the  bishops — had  admitted  his  principle,  resolved  on  his 
ordination,  and,  that  nothing  might  be  done  in  the  dark,  they 
previously  informed  the  Conference  of  their  design.    The  Gen- 
eral Conference  had  a  right  to  take  exceptions,  but  they  should 
have  been  directed  against  the  bishops  and  not  against  the  bish- 
op elect,  who  was  not  accountable  to  them  for  this  act  and  was 
then  under  the  protection  of  the  bishops,  who  were  amendable 
to  the  Conference  for  their  official  acts.    For  the  Conference  to 
undertake  to  convince  the  bishops  of  an  error  in  their  determi- 
nation to  ordain  the  bishop  elect  under  existing  circumstances 
would  have  been  proper,  and  as  the  bishops  had  resolved  to 
ordain  him,  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  president  to  ar- 
rest proceedings  against  Brother  Soule  and  invited  the  attack 
upon  themselves. 

"Ultimately  the  business  assumed  another  form.  The  reso- 
lutions which  were  the  occasion  of  all  this  trouble  were  attacked, 
and  finally  their  operation  was  suspended  for  four  years. 

"The  suspension  of  these  resolutions  opened  the  way  for 
another  effort  to  save  the  constitution,  to  preserve  the  peace  of 
the  Church,  and  perpetuate  the  itinerant  system — objects  which, 
in  his  estimation,  deserve  every  effort  and  sacrifice  he  can  make. 
This  was  to  lay  the  constitutionality  of  these  resolutions  be- 
fore the  Annual  Conferences  as  the  only  legitimate  and  supreme 
authority  to  decide  in  such  cases.  To  this  course  he  was  pro- 
videntially directed  by  a  previous  case  in  our  administration. 
Under  a  provision  in  the  Discipline,  the  bishops  formed  the 
Genesee  Conference  in  1809.  In  the  Virginia  Conference  there 
was  an  objection  to  this  act,  being,  as  it  was  supposed,  uncon- 
stitutional. The  bishops  submitted  the  question  to  the  Annual 


248  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Conferences.  They  acted  upon  it  as  a  proper  subject  of  their  de- 
cision, and  confirmed  the  act  of  the  bishops.  By  this  act  the 
bishops  and  the  Annual  Conferences  tacitly  declared  the  Annual 
Conferences  to  be  the  proper  judges  of  constitutional  questions, 
and  the  senior  bishop  is  fully  persuaded  that,  conformably  to 
the  genius  of  our  government,  all  such  cases  as  cannot  be  other- 
wise adjusted  ought  to  be  submitted  to  their  decision  until 
otherwise  provided  for  by  the  same  authority  on  which  the  pre- 
sent General  Conference  depends  for  its  existence. 

"The  senior  bishop,  in  hope  of  succeeding  in  this  good  work, 
prepared  an  address  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  obtain  a  decision  on  the  constitutionality  of  the 
suspended  resolutions.  If  the  decision  should  be  in  their  favor, 
they  would  go  into  operation  as  soon  as  might  be;  but  if  against 
them,  he  advised  the  Annual  Conferences  to  give  their  consent 
for  the  ensuing  General  Conference  to  introduce  them  conform- 
ably to  the  constitution.  This  he  did,  not  that  he  considered 
the  change  an  improvement  of  the  system  of  government,  but 
because,  in  his  opinion,  the  advocates  of  the  measure  had  gone 
too  far  peaceably  to  return  without  this  concession  and  that  a 
less  efficient  plan,  properly  managed,  would  answer  a  better 
purpose  than  a  more  effective  one  in  the  midst  of  confusion  and 
contention." 

Having  followed  the  narrative  of  Bishop  McKendree's  Jour- 
nal to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the  General  Conference 
and  thereby  anticipated  the  result,  let  us  now  return  and  fol- 
low the  proceedings  of  that  body  more  in  detail  and  in  the  reg- 
ular order  of  action. 

We  have  seen  that  J.  Soule  was  elected  on  May  13;  that  short- 
ly afterwards  the  discussion  was  renewed  on  the  presiding  elder 
question,  resulting,  on  the  eighteenth,  in  the  adoption  of  the 
compromise  resolutions  presented  by  the  committee;  that  upon 
the  same  day  J.  Soule  addressed  a  letter  to  the  bishops,  already 
inserted;  and  that  the  bishops,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
bishop  elect,  brought  the  letter  and  the  topics  it  referred  to  be- 
fore the  Conference.  We  have,  moreover,  seen  that  the  newly 
elected  bishop  tendered  his  resignation,  and  that  the  Conference 
declined  its  acceptance.  We  now  quote  an  extract  of  the  Jour- 
nal: 

"  Tuesday,  May  23,  3  o'clock. — The  following  was  submitted, 
signed  D.  Ostrander,  James  Smith: 

"Whereas,  Brother  Joshua  Soule,  bishop  elect,  has  signified 
in  his  letter  to  the  episcopacy  (which  letter  was  read  in  open 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  249 

Conference),  that  if  he  be  ordained  bishop,  he  will  not  hold 
himself  bound  to  be  governed  by  a  certain  resolution  of  this  Gen- 
eral Conference  relative  to  the  nomination  and  election  of  pre- 
siding elders;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  bishops  be  earnestly  requested  by  this 
Conference  to  defer  or  postpone  the  ordination  of  the  said 
Brother  Joshua  Soule  until  he  gives  satisfactory  explanations 
to  this  Conference.' 

"After  some  debate,  Brother  Soule  made  some  remarks. 

"Moved  and  seconded  that  this  resolution  be  indefinitely 
postponed. 

"Before  the  question  was  taken  on  this  motion,  the  resolution 
was  withdrawn. 

"  Wednesday  morning,  May  24- — It  was  suggested  by  Broth- 
er Reed  that  if  we  go  into  the  ordination  of  Brother  Soule,  it  was 
now  time  we  adjourn.1  Five  minutes  before  eleven  o'clock, 
Brother  Joshua  Soule  rose  and  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  should  by  vote  request  the  episcopacy  to  delay 
his  ordination  for  some  time. 

"No  order  was  taken  on  the  subject. 

"Bishop  George  stated  that  the  episcopacy  had  deferred  the 
ordination  of  Brother  Joshua  Soule  to  some  future  period. 

"Thursday  morning,  May  25. — Bishop  George  informed  the 
Conference  that  the  ordination  of  Brother  J.  Soule  would  take 
place  at  twelve  o'clock  to-day,  in  this  house. 

"Brother  J.  Soule  presented  a  communication  in  which  he 
stated  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  a  bishop  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  to  which  he  had  been  elected." 

The  course  by  the  bishop  elect  was  dictated  by  several  con- 
siderations. 

1.  His  conviction  that  the  constitution  of  the  Church  was 
infringed  by  a  law  which  he  would  be  expected  to  execute. 

2.  The  bishops  themselves  were  in  trouble.    All  of  them  had 
agreed  to  ordain  him  and  were  anxious  that  he  should  submit 
to  it,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  two  of  them  desired  this 
as  a  concession  to  the  Conference,  and  perhaps  with  the  expect- 
tation  that  he  would  so  far  yield  his  scruples  as,  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  to  administer  the  objectionable  law;  while  the  senior 
bishop  desired  his  ordination  not  only  because  he  regarded  him 
as  eminently  worthy  and  fit  for  the  office  (as  did  also  his  col- 
leagues), but  moreover  because  he  had  been  lawfully  elected 
and  would  resist  the  unconstitutional  aggression  which  he  be- 

irThe  ordination  was  appointed  to  take  placej|at  11  A.M.  on  this  day. 


250  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

lieved  had  been  made  by  the  compromise  resolutions.  The 
resignation  was  designed  in  part  to  harmonize  and  relieve  them.1 

3.  The  Conference  was  in  great  trouble.  The  majority  had, 
for  the  sake  of  peace,  adopted  a  measure  which,  upon  reflection, 
they  believed  unconstitutional.  They  harmonized  with  the  man 
whom  they  had  chosen  for  their  bishop  and  desired  his  election, 
although  they  believed  he  would  not  obey  the  law.  Yet  they 
hesitated  to  repeal  the  law  for  fear  of  dissensions  and  strife. 
The  resignation  of  their  bishop  elect  was  designed  to  relieve 
them. 

Many  of  his  oldest  and  most  cherished  friends  opposed  his 
intention  to  resign.  They  urged  him  by  his  love  of  the  Church, 
of  constitutional  Methodism,  and  by  the  fact  that  a  respectable 
majority  persisted  in  demanding  his  ordination  to  submit. 
Upon  the  other  hand,  the  office  had  no  charms  for  him.  He  had 
a  large  young  family  from  whom  he  must  be  almost  estranged  if 
he  accepted.  He  delighted  in  the  regular  pastoral  work  of  the 
ministry.  But,  above  all,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  perform  the 
functions  of  a  general  superintendent  under  this  new  law  and 
honestly  believed  that  in  administering  this  law  fealty  to  the 
delegated  General  Conference  would  be  treason  to  the  Church. 
Therefore,  to  avoid  this  conflict  with  the  Conference  and  an 
apparently  arrogant  assumption  of  power,  he  felt  constrained 
to  reject  the  councils  and  entreaties  of  his  friends  and,  by  re- 
signing his  office,  to  throw  back  the  responsibility  upon  the 
Conference.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  mental  agony  which 
such  a  train  of  circumstances  would  produce  in  an  intelligent, 
conscientious,  and  sensitive  mind.  The  following  letter  from 
Joshua  Soule  to  the  bishops  is  an  apology  for  his  course  and 
needs  no  explanation: 

Bishops  McKendree,  George,  and  Roberts. 

Dear  Bishops:  The  course  which  I  have  pursued  in  presenting  my  resig- 
nation to  the  Conference  may  savor  of  disrespect  to  you  and  therefore 
needs  apology. 

I  spent  the  night  in  a  sleepless  manner  and  could  not  prepare  the  com- 
munications which  I  designed  to  make  to  you  and  to  the  Conference  in 
time  to  see  you  until  after  Conference  hours.  Not  having  the  least  inti- 
mation or  idea  of  the  appointment  for  ordination  this  morning,  my  inten- 
tion was  to  have  seen  you  together,  immediately  after  the  morning  session, 
and  to  communicate  to  you  first  my  resignation  and  to  the  Conference 
at  the  opening  of  the  afternoon  session.  But  on  coming  to  the  Conference  I 
learned  that  the  ordination  was  notified  for  this  morning;  and  in  order  to 

1See  note  on  page  245. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  251 

prevent  improper  excitement  as  to  the  time  appointed  for  ordination,  I 
presented  my  resignation  to  the  Conference  when  I  did. 

I  hope  you  will  not  pass  a  severe  censure  on  me  until  you  shall  hear  the 
reasons  which  have  led  to  this  measure. 

Yours  most  respectfully,  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

MAY  25, 1820. 

We  now  resume  the  extracts  from  the  General  Conference 
Journal. 

"May  25,  3  o'clock. — At  the  opening  of  the  Conference, 
Brother  Joshua  Soule  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Conference 
would  come  to  a  decision  on  his  letter  of  resignation  offered 
this  morning. 

"Moved  and  seconded  that  Brother  Joshua  Soule  be  re- 
quested to  withdraw  his  resignation.  This  motion  was  with- 
drawn. 

"Moved,  etc.,  that  the  Conference  do  not  express  their  de- 
cision on  the  subject  before  to-morrow  morning.  Carried. 

"Friday,  May  26,  3  o'clock. — The  letter  of  Brother  Soule  to 
the  General  Conference,  in  which  he  tendered  his  resignation, 
being  called  for  and  read,  it  was  moved  and  seconded  that  the 
Conference  accept  the  resignation.  Withdrawn. 

"Moved  that  Brother  Soule  be  and  hereby  is  requested  to 
withdraw  his  resignation  and  comply  with  the  wishes  of  his 
brethren  in  submitting  to  be  ordained.  Signed  S.  G.  Roszel, 
S.  K.  Hodges.  Carried,  49  ayes. 

"Brother  Soule,  having  come  into  Conference,  again  stated 
his  purpose  to  resign.  His  resignation  was  accepted." 

No  formal  vote,  however,  seems  to  have  been  taken. 

The  following  letter  to  Bishop  McKendree  was  written  by 
Joshua  Soule  about  this  time  and  reveals  the  writer's  mental 
agony  under  the  trying  circumstances  of  his  position.  It  was 
a  private  and  confidential  communication,  vindicating  his  resig- 
nation against  the  importunities  of  his  friends  and  the  objections 
of  his  opponents.  It  is  like  its  author. 

Dear  Bishop  McKendree:  I  cannot  doubt  you  will  think  me  sincere 
when  I  assure  you  that  the  labor  of  my  mind  in  the  extraordinary  situation 
in  which  I  am  placed  has  weighed  down  my  spirits  and,  in  some  measure, 
broken  down  that  firmness  of  resolution  which  dignifies  the  human  charac- 
ter, and  of  which,  I  trust,  I  have  not  been  altogether  destitute  while  I  have 
encountered  that  portion  of  adversity  which,  in  the  administrations  of 
Providence,  has  fallen  to  my  lot. 

I  entered  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  when  I  was  but  a  child.  I 
have  grown  up  in  her  bosom,  and  my  attachment  to  her  institutions  has 
increased  with  my  increasing  years.  My  happiness  has  been  ingrafted  on 


252  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

her  communion,  and  I  have  contemplated  her  apostolic  order  with  admi- 
ration and  delight.  The  constitution  which  secures  her  government  and 
guards  the  powers  and  privileges  of  her  ministers  and  members,  I  have  ever 
held  sacred.  To  touch  it  in  any  other  way  than  that  which  is  provided  in  the 
constitution  itself  awakens  my  sensibility  and  gives  me  indescribable  pain. 
In  this  state  of  things  the  important  question  is,  How  shall  I  act!  O,  that 
wisdom  from  above  might  guide  my  decision! 

I  was  elected  to  the  office  of  a  superintendent  when  the  constitution  and 
government  were  untouched,  but  by  an  extraordinary  train  of  occurrances  be- 
tween my  election  and  consecration  to  office,  a  law  has  been  passed  with 
special  reference  to  the  episcopacy  which,  in  my  judgment,  transfers  an 
important  executive  prerogative  from  the  episcopacy  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences, and  which  law  I  cannot  conscientiously  administer,  because  I 
firmly  believe  it  to  be  unconstitutional  and  therefore  doubt  my  right  to 
administer  it.  If  I  receive  the  imposition  of  hands  under  these  circum- 
stances without  an  open  and  honest  declaration  to  the  body  which  elected 
me,  how  shall  I  sustain  the  character  of  integrity!  What  shall  answer 
when,  in  the  course  of  my  administration,  I  am  placed  at  issue  with  the 
law?  I  have  seriously  reflected  on  the  subject  of  a  partial  (sectional)  visita- 
tion of  the  Conferences.  I  have  attempted  to  analyze  this  in  relation  to 
our  plan  of  itinerant  general  superintendency,  and  I  perceive  a  dissonance 
which  I  cannot  harmonize.  I  apprehend  that  my  path,  should  I  proceed, 
would  inevitably  lead  me  to  a  point  where  I  should  be  at  issue  with  my 
predecessors  and  seniors  in  office.  I  declare  to  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  these 
considerations,  connected  with  the  train  of  consequences  which  must  fol- 
low, drink  up  my  spirit  and  involve  me  in  a  torrent  of  difficulties  and  re- 
sponsibilities which  that  portion  of  fortitude  that  Providence  has  imparted 
to  me  is  not  sufficient  to  sustain.  //  this  is  weakness,  I  am  weak. 

Had  I  been  ordained  previously  to  the  passing  of  that  resolution,  my 
path  would  have  been  marked  with  sunbeams;  it  is  now  quite  otherwise. 

By  many  I  shall  be  considered  an  enthusiast,  and,  shall,  probably,  sink 
in  the  estimation  of  all;  but  my  conscious  integrity  I  hope  to  retain  as  long 
as  I  live.  And  rather  than  practice  the  least  deception,  I  will  cheerfully 
suffer  the  loss  of  all  I  hold  dear  on  earth. 

From  these  considerations,  the  final  decision  of  my  mind  (not  unac- 
companied with  prayers  and  tears)  is,  that  /  cannct  receive  the  imposition 
of  hands  without  a  full  and  undisguised  development  of  my  situation  to  the 
General  Conference. 

To  every  man  who  spoke  to  me  on  the  subject  previous  to  my  election, 
I  unequivocally  declared  my  entire  adherence  to  the  old-established  plan, 
and  that  I  stood  or  fell  with  the  constitution  and  the  government.  I  believe  no 
one  can  say,  with  a  knowledge  of  my  sentiments,  that  I  have  deceived  any 
man.  I  have  betrayed  no  trust. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  feel  no  sensibility  at  the  thought  of  losing  the  con- 
fidence ol  those  friends  to  whom  I  have  been  bound  by  the  most  sacred  ties 
for  a  succession  of  years,  and  if  I  am  doomed  to  sink  in  your  estimation, 
suffer  me  to  entreat  you  to  consider  fully  the  diffculties  of  my  situation  and 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  253 

ascribe  to  the  frailty  of  human  nature  that  which  I  most  solemnly  assure 
you  is  dictated  neither  by  perverseness  of  will  nor  impurity  of  motive.  And 
whatever  loss  I  may  sustain  in  your  confidence,  permit  me  to  beg  that  I 
may  live  in  your  prayers.  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

The  day  on  which  the  resignation  of  the  bishop  elect  was  de- 
clared to  have  been  accepted  was  marked  by  another  very 
important  act,  the  suspension  by  vote  of  the  General  Conference 
of  the  presiding  elder  resolutions.  This,  of  course,  created  a 
good  deal  of  excitement.  And  yet,  now  that  the  occasion  has 
passed  away  and  we  are  prepared  to  look  more  calmly  into  this 
matter,  who  can  doubt  but  that  on  both  sides  there  was  an  hon- 
est difference  of  opinion  among  brethren  equally  good  and  true? 
Who  doubts  that  Garrettson,  Cooper,  Bangs,  Hedding,  Picker- 
ing, Emory,  and  Waugh,  and  their  colleagues  on  one  side;  and 
Collins,  Capers,  Andrew,  Roszel,  Reed,  Soule,  and  their  asso- 
ciates on  the  other  side,  were  aiming  with  equal  zeal  and  integ- 
rity to  promote  what  they  sincerely  believed  to  be  the  perma- 
nent interests  of  the  Church?  All  but  one  of  them  have  now  gone 
to  the  Church  triumphant  and  have  embraced  each  other  as 
fellow  laborers  on  earth  and  heirs  of  the  promises  above.  Or 
who  can  doubt  that  McKendree,  George,  and  Roberts  were 
alike  sincere  in  their  views  of  Church  polity,  however  differing 
as  to  the  means  of  securing  the  end  at  which  they  with  equal 
purity  of  motives  aimed?  That  McKendree  and  Soule  were 
right  in  their  sentiments,  the  writer  believes;  but  he  also  be- 
lieves they  were  all  right  at  heart. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  the  newly  elected  bishop,  the  ques- 
tion came  up  as  to  the  ability  of  the  bishops  to  perform  the  nec- 
essary labor  of  visiting  the  Conferences  and  the  other  duties  of 
general  superintendents  for  the  ensuing  four  years.  All  seemed 
impressed  with  the  conviction  they  could  not  do  it,  and  some 
were  anxious  to  have  another  election.  The  minority  thought 
that  no  one  would  likely  be  elected  who  would  give  satisfaction 
to  the  whole  work,  and  therefore  that  it  was  best  to  postpone 
the  election  until  next  General  Conference. 

On  the  next  day,  May  27,  a  protest  was  sent  to  the  bishops 
against  entering  into  another  election,  signed  by  thirty  members. 
The  original  paper  is  before  the  writer  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr. 
Bangs,  with  the  signatures  attached  of  many  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  New  York,  New  England,  Genesee,  and  Philadelphia 
Conferences. 

The  reasons  assigned  are  the  agitations  created  by  the  recent 
election  and  resignation  and  the  excitement  growing  out  of  the 


254  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

suspension  of  the  presiding  elder  resolutions,  producing  such  a 
state  of  feeling  as  precluded  the  deliberation  necessary  to  such  an 
act.  They  suggest  that  "it  would  be  placing  any  man  in  a  very 
hazardous  situation  to  put  him,  at  this  time,  into  the  episcopal 
chair."  They  also  complain  of  the  majority  for  the  manner  in 
which  they  secured  the  suspension  of  the  presiding  elder  resolu- 
tions "on  yesterday,  by  obtaining  the  signatures  of  said  ma- 
jority"; and  that  now  they  are  so  leagued  together  that  they 
can  and  will  carry  any  measure  they  choose,  however  obnoxious 
to  the  feelings  and  views  of  the  minority.  They  therefore  say: 
"  We  most  earnestly  wish  the  present  session  to  come  to  a  close." 
The  fact  is,  the  majority  would  have  voted  for  no  one  but  Joshua 
Soule,  and  as  that  under  the  existing  circumstances  would  have 
been  afflicting  to  him  and  perhaps  add  to  the  unpleasant  agita- 
tion of  the  Conference,  there  was  a  general  inclination  to  put 
off  the  election  if  it  could  be  done  without  too  serious  detriment 
to  the  work.  When,  therefore,  the  two  effective  superintend- 
ents came  forward  and  proposed  to  undertake  the  task  for  the 
succeeding  four  years,  with  only  such  assistance  as  the  senior 
bishop  might  be  able  to  give  them,  the  proposition  was  gladly 
concurred  in  and  the  Conference  speedily  brought  to  a  close. 
On  this  point  Bishop  McKendree's  Journal  says: 

"After  the  termination  of  this  important  subject,  the  Con- 
ference hastened  to  a  close,  and  the  members  departed  for  their 
respective  charges,  but  with  very  different  views  relative  to  our 
Church  polity,  the  result  of  the  Conference,  and  the  state  of  the 
episcopacy,  and  their  conflicting  views  and  apprehensions  were 
but  too  freely  disseminated  among  the  people.  I  left  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  under  great  weakness  of  body  and  deeply  con- 
cerned for  the  perpetuation  of  our  government  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Church.  I  did  not  think  the  bishops  could  manage 
the  extensive  and  difficult  work  they  had  undertaken.  The 
part  which  I  had  acted  at  this  Conference  subjected  me  to  an 
inadversion  and  misrepresentation.  The  traveling  preachers 
had,  in  my  opinion,  pushed  their  political  views  too  far  for  an 
amicable  adjustment  without  some  modification  in  the  execu- 
tive department.  I  therefore  concluded  instead  of  regulating 
my  movements  for  the  benefit  of  my  health,  as  the  General 
Conference  had  advised  and  as  my  own  judgment  approved,  to 
continue  to  travel  as  extensively  as  possible  in  order  to  render 
some  assistance  to  my  overburdened  colleagues  and  to  contribute 
to  the  pacification  of  the  Church.  To  reduce  the  power  of  the 
bishops  in  stationing  the  preachers,  which  was  the  only  avowed 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  255 

subject  of  controversy  at  this  time,  I  did  not  consider  to  be  a  wise 
or  profitable  regulation,  yet  was  disposed  to  admit  it,  provided  the 
change  should  be  made  conformably  to  the  constitution,  which 
was  intended  to  preserve  an  efficient  itinerant  episcopal  form 
of  government. 

"I  am  fully  persuaded  that  confidence,  peace,  and  harmony 
among  the  preachers  and  people  and  the  perpetuity  of  our 
itinerant  system  now  in  successful  operation  very  much  de- 
pend upon  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  delegated  General  Con- 
ference as  to  their  intention  to  preserve  the  constitution  invio- 
late and  regard  it  as  their  rule  of  conduct.  My  opposition  to 
the  'peace  measure  resolutions,'  as  they  were  called,  arose  from 
a  conviction  that  they  were  a  violation  of  the  constitution  and 
contravened  a  principle  destructive  of  the  'limitations  and  re- 
strictions' imposed  on  the  delegated  Conference;  and  as  these 
restrictions  were  imposed  by  the  traveling  preachers  collectively 
and  from  whom  the  delegated  body  derived  its  being  and  all  its 
powers,  I  considered  them  the  proper  judges  of  the  constitu- 
tionality of  their  acts.  Influenced  by  these  views  and  a  hope 
of  adjusting  our  difficulties  and  harmonizing  the  traveling 
preachers,  an  address  to  the  Annual  Conferences  was  drawn  up 
in  which  I  gave  my  reasons  for  believing  the  suspended  resolu- 
tions to  be  unconstitutional,  intending  if  a  majority  of  the  An- 
nual Conferences  were  of  a  different  opinion  to  submit  to  their 
judgment  as  a  legal  decision  and  upon  that  authority  admit, 
recommend,  and  act  according  to  the  provisions  of  those  reso- 
olutions;  but  in  the  event  that  my  opinion  should  be  confirmed, 
to  advise  the  Conferences  to  recommend  their  adoption  by  the 
ensuing  General  Conference,  and  thereby  introduce  them  con- 
formably to  the  constitution. 

"The  address  was  first  presented  to  those  Conferences  most 
inimical  to  the  proposed  change,  and  it  was  satisfactorily  as- 
certained that  seven  of  the  twelve  Annual  Conferences  judged 
the  suspended  resolutions  unconstitutional;  and  yet,  for  peace's 
sake,  although  they  were  not  considered  by  them  an  improve- 
ment, they  authorized  the  ensuing  General  Conference,  as  far 
as  they  could  do  so,  to  adopt  them  without  alteration.  But  the 
five  other  Conferences,  in  which  the  steady  friends  and  most 
powerful  advocates  of  the  proposed  change  were  found,  refused 
to  act  on  the  address,  and  thereby  prevented  its  adoption  in  a 
constitutional  way,  and,  of  course,  set  in  for  another  vigorous 
contest  at  the  next  General  Conference.  In  this  way  my  hope 
of  a  safe  and  peaceable  adjustment  of  our  difficulties  and  the 


256  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

prevention  of  a  dangerous  probable  schism  in  the  Church  was 
frustrated  and  the  way  for  the  spread  of  the  schism  already 
commenced  was  made  more  easy. 

"Until  that  time  I  had,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  confidence  and 
affections  of  the  preachers  generally,  but  after  that  I  had  to 
feel  the  effects  of  an  astonishing  change.  Old  friends  met  me 
with  cool  indifference  or  with  retiring,  forbidding  reserve,  and 
sometimes  even  with  rudeness.  My  best-intended  movements 
were  misconstrued,  sometimes  converted  into  faults  or  mag- 
nified to  my  disadvantage  and  to  the  injury  of  the  cause  which 
we  were  mutually  bound  to  support.  In  this  furnace  of  afflic- 
tion I  discovered  my  own  imperfections  as  well  as  those  of  my 
brethren,  saw  wherein  I  might  have  acted  more  wisely  and  pru- 
dently in  many  cases,  and  that  some  of  our  afflictions  might 
have  been  prevented  and  the  same  end  obtained  by  a  course  a 
little  different,  and  therefore  better,  because  less  liable  to  mis- 
representation. But  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  still  presided 
and  prospered  his  work  in  our  hands.  I  still  respected  my  old 
friends,  from  whom  I  was  suffering  exquisitely  for  their  former 
friendship  and  kindness,  as  well  as  for  their  continued  dispo- 
sition to  minister  to  my  increasing  necessities  and,  above  all,  I 
was  humbled  under  a  sense  of  the  grace  of  God,  by  which  I  was 
preserved  in  this  fight  of  affliction. 

"Between  the  General  Conferences  of  1820  and  1824,  my 
health  was  very  delicate  and  my  trials  very  great,  but  I  pursued 
my  course  as  well  as  I  could  until  the  fall  preceding  the  General 
Conference  of  1824,  when,  observing  the  method  adopted  by 
some  and  thinking  that  I  could  not  attend  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences without  interfering  with  their  measures,  or  at  least  seem- 
ing to  interfere  in  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  ensuing  Gen- 
eral Conference,  which  I  deemed  derogatory  to  my  station,  there- 
fore, notwithstanding  the  fate  of  our  controversy  depended  on 
the  representatives  to  be  chosen  at  the  three  following  Confer- 
ences, I  committed  the  cause  to  God,  and  went  no  farther  than 
the  Tennessee  Conference.  Great  were  the  efforts  to  secure  a 
majority  in  favor  of  the  suspended  resolutions,  but  they  proved 
unsuccessful." 

The  course  pursued  by  Bishop  McKendree  throughout  this 
very  unpleasant  controversy  was  characterized  by  great  dis- 
crimination, deep  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Church,  and 
a  moral  heroism  rarely  equaled.  His  position  was  a  very  deli- 
cate one,  inasmuch  as  in  opposing  the  measures  under  consider- 
ation, he  seemed  to  be  advocating  the  prerogatives  of  his  own 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  257 

office,  and  thus  his  opposition  might  be  construed  into  a  self- 
ish and  ambitious  principle.  Yet  nothing  was  more  foreign 
from  the  truth.  He  believed,  and  his  conviction  was  deep  and 
abiding,  that  the  change  contended  for  was  subversive  of  the 
constitution  and  might  be  made  the  precedent  for  a  most  fearful 
train  of  revolutionary  measures.  He  could  not,  durst  not, 
yield  to  them. 
17 


CHAPTER  XV 

Bishop  McKendree's  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences  as  to  the  suspended 
resolutions — The  Southern  and  Western  Conferences  consent — Five 
others  reject  it — It  fails — By  whom,  and  why — Weslyan  Repository — 
Mutual  Rights — Methodist  Protestant  Church — Journal  resumed — 
Henry  Smith's  narrative — Visits  extensively — Preaches  at  camp  meet- 
ing— He  goes  South — South  Carolina  Conference — J.  Soule's  letters — 
Dr.  Capers's  letter— His  character  and  influence — His  second  letter — 
The  era  of  missions — Cherokee  and  Choctaw — Missions  to  slaves — 
Bible  and  Sunday  School  Societies. 

THE  following  is  the  address  of  Bishop  McKendree  to  the 
Annual  Conferences  in  relation  to  the  suspended  resolutions 
referred  to  in  the  last  chapter.  It  exhibits  the  character  of  his 
mind,  clear,  logical,  and  analytical,  and  is  a  triumphant  vin- 
dication of  his  ecclesiastical  politics  as  well  as  of  his  unwaver- 
ing opposition  to  the  changes  involved  in  these  resolutions.  It 
well  deserves  a  careful  and  repeated  perusal;  for  although  the 
occasion  which  called  it  forth  has  passed  away  we  trust  forever 
so  that  few  if  any  are  now  found,  even  in  the  North  where  they 
were  most  popular,  to  advocate  their  introduction  into  the  pol- 
ity of  the  Church,  the  South  continuing,  as  she  has  ever  been, 
true  to  the  constitution,  yet,  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  sim- 
ilar scenes,  it  is  important  that  our  Church  government  should 
be  studied  and  understood;  and  it  is  believed  that  no  single  doc- 
ument which  has  ever  been  published  upon  this  subject  pre- 
sents such  a  clear,  concise,  and  powerful  array  of  arguments 
against  the  innovations  alluded  to  as  does  this  address.  Its 
effect  was  most  decidedly  conservative.  Multitudes  of  preach- 
ers and  members  who  were  likely  to  be  misled  by  the  popular 
clamor  against  episcopal  power  were  brought  to  see  the  tend- 
ency and  anticipate  the  result  of  this  "peace  measure";  and 
many  of  the  excellent  and  pure-minded  men  who  had  advocated 
it  lived  to  appreciate  the  motives  and  honor  the  noble  old  Bish- 
op who  so  bravely  and  yet  so  meekly  withstood  it. 

To  the  Annual  Conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  commencing  with  the  Ohio 
Conference,  to  be  held  in  Lebanon,  September  6, 1821. 

Dear  Brethren:  Forasmuch  as  a  considerable  branch  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  is  committed  to  our  care,  so  as  to  involve  us  in  high  responsibility 
both  to  God  and  man,  I  am  induced  by  the  present  state  of  a  long-pro- 
tracted controversy  respecting  the  powers  of  our  general  superinterdents 
to  lay  the  subject  fully  before  you,  hoping  you  will  direct  it  to  a  proper 
conclusion. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  259 

For  a  number  of  years  a  respectable  minority  in  our  General  Conference 
have  been  endeavoring  to  divest  the  bishops  of  the  power  of  choosing  the 
presiding  elders  and  of  stationing  the  preachers.  They  wish  to  change  our 
present  form  of  government  so  as  to  invest  the  Annual  Conferences  with 
the  power  of  choosing  the  presiding  elders,  instead  of  their  being  appointed 
by  the  bishops,  and  then  to  transfer  the  power  of  stationing  the  preachers 
from  the  bishops  to  the  presiding  elders.  But  this  change,  in  the  opinion 
of  your  superintendent,  would  radically  affect  our  system  of  government 
in  several  ways. 

1.  It  would  effectually  transfer  the  executive  authority  from  the  bishops 
to  the  Annual  Conferences  and  thereby  do  away  that  form  of  episcopacy 
and  itinerant  general  superintendency  which  is  recognized  in  our  form  of 
Discipline,  and  confirmed  in  the  third  Article  of  the  Constitution. 

2.  By  doing  away  the  present  effective  general  superintendency,  our 
itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the  gospel  would  be  greatly  injured  if  not  en- 
tirely destroyed. 

3.  In  point  of  law,  it  would  effectually  divest  the  members  of  our  Church 
of  all  constitutional  security  for  their  rights  and  reduce  them  to  the  neces- 
sity of  depending  entirely  on  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  General 
Conference  for  those  inestimable  blessings. 

That  the  proposed  change  would  effectually  transfer  the  executive 
authority  from  the  bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  thereby  do 
away  that  form  of  episcopacy,  with  the  itinerant  general  superintendency, 
which  is  recognized  in  our  form  of  Discipline  and  confirmed  in  the  third 
Article  of  the  Constitution,  will  appear  from  a  due  attention  to  our  form 
of  Discipline.  According  to  our  system  of  government,  it  is  the  duty  ot  the 
bishops  "  to  travel  through  the  connection  at  large,  to  oversee  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  business  of  the  Church."  But  to  oversee,  or  superintend, 
implies  power  to  overrule  or  manage  business  officially.  In  order,  therefore, 
to  qualify  the  bishops  to  oversee  the  important  business  .committed  to 
their  charge  and  to  carry  our  system  of  rules  into  complete  effect,  they 
are  authorized  "to  preside  in  the  Conferences;"  "to  fix  the  appointments 
of  the  preachers  for  the  several  circuits;"  to  form  districts,  and  choose 
the  presiding  elders;  and,  in  the  intervals  of  the  Conferences,  to  change, 
receive,  and  suspend  preachers,  as  necessity  may  require  and  the  Discipline 
directs."  And  in  order  to  secure  a  faithful  performance  of  their  duty  and, 
at  the  same  time,  guard  against  an  abuse  of  power,  the  bishops  are  obliged 
to  act  in  strict  conformity  to  rules  formed  by  the  preachers,  over  whom 
their  authority  is  exercised,  to  whom  they  are  amenable  for  their  adminis- 
tration and  by  whom  they  may  be  expelled  for  improper  conduct. 

In  the  appointment  of  preachers,  those  who  are  to  have  charge  of  cir- 
cuits, districts,  etc.,  are  selected  and,  by  virtue  of  their  appointment,  are 
invested  with  full  power  to  discharge  the  duties  of  their  respective  stations; 
and  in  case  they  should  neglect  or  refuse  to  do  their  duty  as  pointed  out 
in  the  Discipline,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  general  superintendent  (after 
suitable  admonition)  to  remove  such  from  office  and  supply  their  places 
with  others,  who  will  attend  to  the  duties  assigned  them. 


260  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

1 .  By  employing  preachers  in  the  intervals  of  the  Conferences  and  making 
such  changes  from  district  to  district  and  from  Conference  to  Conference 
as  the  situation  of  our  work  may  require,  the  general  superintendents  are 
enabled  so  to  enlarge  the  field  of  missionary  labors  that  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ  may  be  carried  to  the  destitute  wherever  they  may  be 
found,  especially  to  the  poor.    In  this  way  uniformity  in  the  administra- 
tion may  be  preserved  throughout  the  Conferences,  errors  in  the  adminis- 
tration corrected,  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  General  Conference 
carried  into  effect;  while  the  whole  administration,  even  from  the  very  ex- 
tremities of  the  work,  through  the  responsibility  of  the  general  superin- 
intendents,  is  brought  under  the  inspection  and  control  of  the  General 
Conference.    Thus  qualified  for  their  work,  it  is  the  bishops'  reasonable 
duty  to  travel  through  the  connection  at  large;  "to  oversee  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  of  the  Church";  and  it  is  equally  reasonable  and  just  that 
they  should  be  responsible  to  the  General  Conference  for  the  faithful  per- 
formance or  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their  episcopal  office. 

From  this  view  of  our  government,  it  evidently  follows  that  the  ex- 
ecutive authority,  or  the  power  by  which  the  bishops  are  enabled  "to  over- 
see the  business  of  the  Church,"  consists  in  the  power  of  appointing  and  con- 
trolling the  preachers,  and  especially  the  presiding  elders,  because  they  are 
authorized  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of  general  superintendents  in  the 
bounds  of  their  respective  districts,  except  that  of  ordination;  and  might, 
but  for  their  being  subject  to  the  control  of  the  bishops,  so  counteract  and 
render  the  general  superintendency  useless  and  nugatory  as  effectually  "  to 
do  away  that  episcopacy  and  itinerant  general  superintendency  recognized 
in  our  Discipline  and  confirmed  by  the  third  Article  of  the  Constitution." 
The  presiding  elders,  at  present,  are  under  obligations  to  attend  to  the  in- 
structions of  the  general  superintendents,  but  were  the  proposed  change 
adopted  they  would  then  be  under  obligations  to  follow  the  instructions 
of  the  Annuafc  Conferences,  consequently  the  bishops  would  have  no  more 
control  over  them  than  the  Annual  Conferences  have  under  the  present 
regulations;  and  there  would  be  no  propriety  in  requiring  the  bishops  to 
travel  through  the  connection  at  large  (say  six  thousand  miles)  annually, 
"to  oversee  the  business  of  the  Church";  nor  could  they  justly  be  respon- 
sible for  the  administration  while  thus  deprived  of  official  control;  for,  al- 
though they  might  travel  through  the  connection  and  see  abuses,  the  in- 
structions of  different  Conferences  clashing,  their  presiding  elders  admin- 
istering differently,  and  coming  in  contact  with  each  other  in  the  execu- 
tion of  discipline,  their  interference  would  be  unofficial  and  of  no  effect. 
Therefore,  the  change  under  consideration  would  completely  destroy  the 
plan  of  our  general  superintendency. 

2.  By  doing  away  the  present  general  superintendency,  our  itinerant 
plan  of  preaching  the  gospel  would  be  greatly  injured,  if  not  entirely  de- 
stroyed. 

That  the  itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the  gospel  may  be  differently  modi- 
fied and  still  succeed  under  different  circumstances  is  freely  admitted. 
Could  all  our  traveling  preachers  attend  one  Annual  Conference  to  account 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  261 

for  their  administration  and  receive  their  appointments  and  instructions, 
the  itinerant  plan  might  go  on  and  prosper  in  America  as  it  does  in  England 
without  either  General  Conference  or  general  superintendency.  But  our 
situation  is  widely  different  from  theirs.  Our  work  extends  over  more 
than  twenty  States  and  has  to  encounter  difficulties  arising  from  the  civil 
regulations  of  different  State  and  Territorial  governments.  We  are  divided 
into  twelve  Annual  Conferences.  These  are  all  equal  in  power  and  in- 
dependent of  each  other,  no  one  having  power  to  impose  laws  on  another. 
The  jurisdiction  of  each  Annual  Conference  is  restricted  to  its  own  bounds, 
and  each  presiding  elder  to  his  own  district.  Out  of  this  state  of  things 
arises  the  necessity  of  a  General  Conference  to  make  rules  or  laws  for  the 
united  Annual  Conferences  and  of  a  general  superintendency  to  enforce 
those  rules,  to  preserve  a  uniform  administration  of  discipline,  to  pre- 
serve the  union  of  the  several  Annual  Conferences,  and  by  removing 
preachers  from  district  to  district  and  from  Conference  to  Conference  (which 
no  Annual  Conference  nor  presiding  elder  can  do)  perpetuate  and  extend 
missionary  labors  for  the  benefit  of  increasing  thousands  who  look  unto 
us  as  teachers  sent  of  God.  Such  is  our  situation  in  this  country  that  our 
itinerant  system  can  no  more  do  without  an  effective  general  superintend- 
ency, sufficiently  under  the  control  of  the  General  Conference  itself.  It 
was,  therefore,  ratified  by  the  constitution  after  twenty-four  years'  ex- 
perience in  proof  of  its  utility  and  necessity.  Forasmuch,  then,  as  the 
harmony  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  success  of  our  itiner- 
ant system  depend  so  much  on  an  effective  general  superintendency,  it  can- 
not be  done  away  without  greatly  injuring,  if  not  entirely  destroying,  our 
itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the  gospel. 

3.  In  point  of  law,  it  would  effectively  divest  the  members  of  our  Church 
of  all  constitutional  security  for  their  rights  and  reduce  them  to  the  neces- 
sity of  depending  altogether  on  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  General 
Conference  for  those  inestimable  blessings. 

Before  the  constitution  was  formed  the  General  Conference  possessed 
unlimited  powers  and  made  such  changes  in  the  form  of  Discipline  as  they 
saw  proper.  Out  of  such  a  state  of  things  the  judicious  apprehended  se- 
rious consequences  might  arise.  The  preachers,  therefore,  composing  the 
General  Conference  in  1808,  in  full  possession  of  all  the  powers  of  the  Con- 
ference of  1784  (which  organized  the  Church),  proceeded  to  constitute  and 
organize  the  delegated  General  Conference  and  invested  it  with  full  powers 
to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  our  Church  under  certain  limitations  and 
restrictions.  Those  restrictions  forbid  their  changing  our  Articles  of  Re- 
ligion, erecting  new  standards  of  doctrine,  or  changing  our  form  of  govern- 
ment so  as  to  deprive  the  preachers  or  members  of  their  privileges,  or  ap- 
propriating the  funds  of  the  Church  contrary  to  the  will  of  their  constit- 
uents. The  third  Article  in  the  Constitution  says:  "They  (the  delegated 
General  Conference)  shall  not  change  or  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our  gov- 
ernment so  as  to  do  away  episcopacy  or  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant 
general  superintendency";  and  they  very  judiciously  secured  to  the  An- 
nual Conferences,  jointly,  the  right  of  recommending  any  alteration  that 


262  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

might  be  judged  proper  in  any  of  the  aforesaid  restrictions.  These  re- 
strictions being  all  equally  binding,  if  the  delegated  General  Conference 
may  infringe  or  set  aside  one  part,  why  not  another?  Yea,  why  not  all? 
For  it  requires  no  more  power  to  change  our  Articles  of  Religion,  erect  new 
standards  of  doctrine,  and  do  away  the  rights  of  preachers  and  members, 
than  to  do  away  our  general  superintendency;  and,  if  the  delegated  Gen- 
eral Conference  is  not  bound  by  these  restrictions,  then  their  power  is  un- 
defined and  unlimited,  they  may  make  what  changes  they  please  and  there 
can  be  no  legal  redress,  no  constitutional  guarantee  for  our  rights  and  priv- 
ileges. Your  superintendent  most  cordially  disapproves  of  such  a  state 
of  things  and  will  do  nothing  which  he  believes  will  produce  it,  because  he 
conceives  it  would  go  to  deprive  both  preachers  and  members  of  constitu- 
tional security,  and  reduce  them  to  the  necessity  of  relying  solely  on  the 
General  Conference  for  all  their  rights  and  privileges.  Before  the  consti- 
tution was  formed,  the  powers  of  the  General  Conference  being  undefined 
and  unlimited,  and  our  form  of  Discipline  subject  to  any  alterations  and 
amendments  thought  to  be  necessary,  each  succeeding  General  Conference, 
for  upward  of  twenty  years  after  the  Church  was  organized,  made  such 
amendments  in  the  system  of  government  as  to  them  appeared  most  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  the  people;  and  during  those  days  your 
superintendent  (as  well  as  others)  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  propose  and  de- 
fend such  alterations  as  were  judged  profitable  and  expedient;  but,  since 
the  powers  of  the  General  Conference  were  restricted  and  rights  defined 
and  secured  to  members  of  the  Church  by  the  formation  of  a  constitution, 
your  superintendent  has  both  thought  and  acted  very  differently.  Since 
that  memorable  era  in  Methodism,  your  superintendent  conceives  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  be  bound  as  sacredly  to  observe  all  those  restrictions 
(as  the  laws  by  which  their  proceedings  are  to  be  tested)  as  each  member 
of  the  Church  is  bound  to  submit  to  the  examination  of  his  conduct  accord- 
ing to  the  legitimate  rules  enacted  by  said  Conference,  because  the  restric- 
tions arise  from  the  same  source  and  are  supported  by  the  same  authority 
which  gave  evidence  to  the  delegated  General  Conference  and  validity 
to  their  rules  and  regulations;  consequently,  they  must  both  stand  or  fall 
together.  From  these  remarks,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  General  Confer- 
ence has  no  right  to  make  such  innovations  in  our  system  of  government, 
regardless  of  the  steps  pointed  out  by  the  provisionary  clause  in  the  sixth 
Article  of  our  Constitution. 

At  the  last  General  Conference  the  long-protracted  controversy  con- 
cerning the  power  of  the  superintendents  came  to  an  eventful  crisis.  In 
all  probability,  however,  the  matter  would  have  ended  as  formerly  had  not 
what  was  thought  an  accommodating  plan  been  introduced,  which  pro- 
duced the  following  resolutions: 

"1.  Whenever,  in  any  Annual  Conference,  there  shall  be  a  vacancy  or  va- 
cancies in  the  office  of  presiding  elder,  in  consequence  of  his  period  of  serv- 
ice of  four  years  having  expired  or  the  bishop  wishing  to  remove  any  pre- 
siding elder,  or  by  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  the  bishop,  or  president 
of  the  Conference,  having  ascertained  the  number  wanted  from  any  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  263 

these  causes,  shall  nominate  three  times  the  number,  out  of  which  the  Con- 
ference shall  elect  by  ballot,  without  debate,  the  number  wanted;  provided, 
when  there  is  more  than  one  wanted,  not  more  than  three  at  a  time  shall  be 
nominated  or  more  than  one  at  a  time  elected;  provided,  also,  that  in  case 
of  any  vacancy  or  vacancies  in  the  office  of  presiding  elder  in  the  interval 
of  any  Annual  Conference  the  bishop  shall  have  authority  to  fill  the  said 
vacancy  or  vacancies  until  the  ensuing  Annual  Conference. 
"2.  That  the  presiding  elders  be  and  hereby  are  made  the  advisory  coun- 
cil of  the  bishop,  or  president  of  the  Conference,  in  stationing  the  preach- 
ers." 

Could  your  Superintendent  have  subscribed  to  these  resolutions  as  con- 
stitutional, he  might,  in  all  probability,  have  enlisted  in  his  favor  the 
feelings  of  many  whom  he  highly  esteems  and  participated  in  the  general 
pleasure.  But  this  he  could  not  do  consistently  with  a  good  conscience. 
In  his  judgment  the  delegated  General  Conference  has  no  authority  to 
make  such  changes  in  our  system  of  government,  unless  the  previous  steps 
be  taken  as  pointed  out  in  the  sixth  Article  of  our  Constitution.  It  is  very 
evident  that  the  above  resolutions  contemplate  taking  the  authority  of 
appointing  the  presiding  elders  from  the  episcopacy,  at  least  so  far  as  to 
leave  nothing  but  a  simple  nomination.  But  if  the  General  Conference 
possesses  the  right  to  go  thus  far,  certainly  they  may,  on  the  same  principle, 
take  away  the  power,  or  privilege,  if  you  please,  to  nominate  likewise,  and 
thereby  introduce  presiding  elders,  independently  of  the  bishops'  appoint- 
ment, nomination,  or  control,  and,  in  the  issue,  entirely  destroy  our  itiner- 
ant episcopal  form  of  government,  as  has  already  been  shown.  Moreover, 
if  the  General  Conference  may  deprive  the  bishops  of  one  part  of  their  of- 
ficial powers,  in  defiance  of  the  constitution,  why  may  they  not  of  another? 
why  not  of  all?  The  authority  that  can  take  away  one  part  of  the  execu- 
tive power  from  the  bishops,  may  take  away  another,  until  they  do  away 
episcopacy  and  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant  general  superintendency 
entirely;  and  the  same  power  and  authority  that  can  effect  this  may  effect 
whatever  change  they  please,  both  in  doctrine  and  discipline.  The  sub- 
ject involves  the  most  serious  consequences.  It  does  not  turn  so  much  on 
the  iitility  or  inutility  of  the  change  proposed  as  on  the  constitutionality 
thereof,  because  on  this  point  all  our  rights  as  preachers  and  members  de- 
pend. With  this  view  of  the  subject,  your  superintendent  could  not  sub- 
mit his  delegated  powers  to  the  General  Conference  without  being  charge- 
able with  a  breach  of  trust;  nor  can  he  conceive  how  they  can  legally  de- 
prive him  of  that  power  without  first  attending  to  the  steps  pointed  out  in 
our  constitution.  He  thinks  it  would  be  a  precedent  which  would  subject 
the  government  to  perpetual  changes  and  thereby  render  the  security  for 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  preachers  and  members  very  precarious  and 
uncertain.  Your  superintendent,  therefore,  informed  the  General  Confer- 
ence that,  in  his  judgment,  the  resolutions  were  unconstitutional,  and  con- 
sequently did  not  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  carry  them  into  effect.  He  point- 
ed out  some  of  the  consequences  of  infringing  on  constitutional  rights;  and 
to  avoid  such  consequences,  advised  (if  the  change  must  take  place)  that 


264  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

it  should  be  done  according  to  the  provision  in  the  constitution;  or,  as  the 
last  resort,  he  intimated  an  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences.  This  was 
a  painful  task,  especially  as  it  was  performed  in  a  state  of  great  bodily  de- 
bility, and  nothing  but  a  deep  sense  of  duty  and  obligation  to  maintain  and 
preserve  inviolate  (as  far  as  he  could)  that  system  of  government  which  in 
trust  was  committed  to  him  as  general  superintendent  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  in  which  both  preachers  and  members  are  so  deeply 
interested,  could  have  induced  him  to  venture  the  attempt. 

But  as  many  of  the  preachers  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  above-mentioned 
resolutions  at  the  last  General  Conference  saw  they  had  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  the  restrictions  under  which  they  acted,  they  suspended  the  op- 
eration of  the  resolutions  for  four  years.    Hence  your  superintendent  is 
enabled  to  lay  the  subject  before  you  clear  of  embarrassments  with  which 
it  otherwise  must  have  been  encumbered.     And,  although  your  superin- 
tendent, for  reasons  already  assigned,  could  not  submit  or  give  up  the  pow- 
ers he  possessed,  as  general  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  to  the  disposal  of  your  representatives  in  the  last  General  Confer- 
ence assembled,  he  will  most  cheerfully  resign  them  whenever  they  are 
constitutionally  authorized  to  receive  and  dispose  of  them  in  conformity 
to  your  instructions.   From  the  preachers  collectively  both  the  General  Con- 
ference and  general  superintendents  derive  their  powers;  and  to  the  An- 
nual Conferences,  jointly,  is  reserved  the  power  of  recommending  a  change 
in  our  constitution.    To  you,  therefore,  your  superintendent  not  only  sub- 
mits the  case,  but  he  would  advise  you  to  adopt  such  measures  as  you  in 
your  judgment  may  deem  most  prudent  by  which  to  recognize  the  adop- 
tion of  the  change  proposed  in  the  resolutions,  conformably  to  the  pro- 
vision in  the  sixth  Article  of  the  constitution.     Not  that  he  believes  the 
change  would  be  an  improvement  of  our  system  of  government,  or  that  it 
would  fully  answer  the  expectations  of  its  advocates,  but  as  an  accommo- 
dating measure,  on  the  utility  of  which  men  equally  wise  and  good  may, 
in  some  degree,  differ  in  opinion.    Your  superintendent  is,  therefore,  dis- 
posed to  submit  his  opinion  for  the  harmony  of  the  body  as  far  as  is  con- 
sistent with  his  duty  and  obligations  to  the  Church.    And,  as  a  majority 
of  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  last  General  Conference,  after  having  re- 
ceived assurances  that  it  would  be  satisfactory  and  put  the  controverted 
subject  to  rest,  voted  in  favor  of  the  resolutions,  they  tacitly  say,  all  things 
considered,  the  change  is  at  least  prudentially  necessary.    To  this  decision 
all  due  deference  is  paid.    In  the  opinion  of  your  superintendent,  no  sacri- 
fice for  peace  and  harmony  which  can  be  made  consistently  with  the  con- 
stitution and  preservation  of  our  general  itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the 
gospel  is  too  great.    With  your  recommendation  and  instructions,  your 
representatives  in  General  Conference  may  act  as  they  may  judge  most  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  his  Church.    Thus  introduced,  the  case 
would  commend  and  establish  the  constitution  and  form  an  effectual  bar- 
rier against  any  future  infringement  of  that  bulwark  of  our  rights  and  lib- 
erties.  This  advice  flows  neither  from  the  fear  of  frowns  or  a  desire  of  ease, 
honor,  or  profit.    Let  me  be  anything  or  nothing  in  those  respects,  so  the 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  265 

work  of  the  Lord  may  prosper.  The  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  Church 
of  God  are  the  objects  of  my  pursuit.  For  these  I  have  labored,  for  these 
I  pray,  and  in  this  cause  am  willing  to  suffer.  Could  I  contribute  to  this 
important  end,  live  to  see  it  permanently  established,  and  then  be  per- 
mitted to  rest  in  peace,  my  desire  on  earth  would  be  accomplished.  My  work 
is  almost  done;  the  time  of  my  departure  is  fast  approaching  when  I  shall 
resign  the  whole  of  my  charge  into  the  hands  of  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  under  whose  authority  I  act  as  your  servant. 

WILLIAM  MCKENDREE. 

The  result  of  this  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences  we  have 
already  seen.  Seven  out  of  twelve  of  them  declared  the  reso- 
lutions unconstitutional,  but  for  the  attainment  of  peace  and 
in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  the  senior  bishop  gave  their 
consent  for  their  introduction,  conformably  with  the  constitu- 
tion, at  the  next  General  Conference.  These  were  the  Southern 
and  Western  Conferences,  which  had  always  stood  firmly  op- 
posed to  all  innovations.  It  was  a  magnanimous  surrender  of 
preference  for  the  sake  of  harmony,  but  it  was  a  dangerous  con- 
cession and  proved  unavailing,  although  well  intended.  The 
other  five  Conferences  refused  to  accept  the  changes  as  a  con- 
stitutional measure,  because  they  were  unwilling  to  acknowl- 
edge the  want  of  power  in  the  General  Conference  to  effect  it. 
They  laid  the  address  upon  the  table  and  there  let  it  lie,  virtual- 
ly refused  to  act  on  it,  and  thus  tacitly  avowed  their  determina- 
tion to  carry  the  change  into  effect  independently  of  the  con- 
stitutional scruples  of  the  bishops  and  other  Conferences.  Great 
exertions  were  made  to  effect  this  purpose.  Many  hard  things 
were  said  and  written  against  the  senior  bishop,  that  "he 
would  not  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  General  Conference," 
"that  he  acted  independently  of  the  other  bishops,"  etc. 
Against  such  accusations  he  could  not  condescend  to  make  a 
public  and  formal  defense  of  himself.  His  uniform  and  faithful 
administration  of  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  General  Con- 
ference, the  absence  of  all  personal  and  private  motives  to  act 
contumaciously,  and  his  life,  now  almost  exhausted  in  the  la- 
borious and  consistent  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  ministerial 
and  episcopal  offices  were  their  satisfactory  refutation.  He 
enjoyed  that  which  is  far  preferable  to  applause  or  to  success, 
the  consciousness  of  deserving  them.  His  own  heart  and  con- 
science bore  evidence  to  his  integrity,  and  he  could  with  humble 
confidence  appeal  to  his  great  Master  in  proof  of  the  fact  that 
not  for  himself,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  Church,  he  had  taken 
his  course.  To  those  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  sensitiveness, 


266  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  the  Bishop,  it  would  be  needless  to  say  that  the  temporary 
alienation  of  many  old  friends  and  the  attacks  upon  his  charac- 
ter and  the  government  of  the  Church  which  this  controversy 
was  the  occasion  of  producing  were  to  him  exceedingly  painful. 
The  most  mortifying  circumstance  in  this  affair  was  that  his 
motives  were  impugned  and  the  Discipline  denounced  as  "anti- 
republican,"  "popish,"  etc.  And  yet,  while  he  could  not  un- 
der any  array  of  circumstances  succumb  to  what  he  regarded 
as  a  palpable  violation  of  the  constitution  which  he  had  pledged 
his  solemn  vow  to  sustain,  he  did  so  far  try  to  conciliate  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  measure  as  to  seek  and  advise  its  incorporation 
into  the  laws  of  the  Church  upon  constitutional  principles.  Un- 
der the  circumstances,  this  may  have  been  best;  and,  as  it  turned 
out,  doubtless  it  was  politic  and  practically  harmless;  but,  oc- 
cupying the  standpoint  we  do  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  we 
are  compelled  to  confess  our  opinion  that  he  owed  it  to  his  clear, 
strong  conviction  of  the  impolicy  and  highly  injurious  tendency 
of  the  change  in  the  organic  laws  of  the  Church,  to  have  stood 
firmly  and  uncompromisingly  against  the  whole  of  it,  from  first 
to  last.  And  yet  there  were  several  considerations  which  pal- 
liate, if  they  do  not  fully  justify,  his  course.  The  excitement 
growing  out  of  the  long-continued  agitation  of  the  question,  and 
especially  out  of  the  position  which  the  bishop  elect  and  him- 
self felt  compelled  to  take,  was  very  considerable  and  threatened 
the  peace  of  the  Church.  The  bishops  themselves  were  divided 
upon  it,  the  senior  bishop  regarding  the  resolutions  not  only  as 
impolitic  but  revolutionary,  if  passed  without  the  concurrence 
of  the  Annual  Conferences;  one  of  his  colleagues  admitting  their 
"infringement  of  the  constitution,"  but  willing  to  see  them  go 
into  operation  under  existing  circumstances;  and  the  other, 
without  an  open  avowal  of  his  opinion  as  to  their  constitutional 
character,  evidently  favoring  their  adoption.  To  secure  har- 
mony in  the  episcopacy,  maintain  the  authority  of  the  constitu- 
tion, and,  by  yielding  his  preference  as  to  the  mode  of  adminis- 
tering the  polity  of  the  Cuurch,  obtain  a  fresh  indorsement  of 
the  constitution,  and  thus  restore  peace  without  the  sacrifice  of 
a  vital  principle,  were  certainly  his  objects.  Perhaps  the  con- 
sideration which  least  influenced  him  was  that  in  proposing  and 
recommending  the  change  he  vindicated  his  office  as  well  as  his 
own  motives  and  character  from  imputations.  These  weighty 
reasons  preponderated,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  "compromise 
measure  "  was  proposed  to  the  Annual  Conferences.  Fortunate- 
ly for  the  Church,  the  effort  failed;  but  by  the  manner  and 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  267- 

cause  of  its  failure,  the  odium  of  its  defeat  did  not  attach  to  him 
or  to  those  who  agreed  with  him  in  sentiment.  He  yielded 
everything  but  principle  for  peace;  but  the  advocates  of  the  res- 
olutions, while  professing  to  have  no  wish  for  anything  more, 
refused  to  accept  them,  unless  at  what  he  regarded  as  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  constitution.  And  it  is  ever  thus  with  innovations, 
both  in  Church  and  State.  The  intelligent  and  sincere  who 
commence  the  work  are  soon  pushed  aside  or  impelled  forward 
to  ends  they  did  not  contemplate  at  the  beginning  by  those  less 
scrupulous  and  more  ambitious.  Parties  are  formed,  passions 
are  excited,  and  the  positions  gained  by  concession  become  the 
grounds  of  further  demands.  And  hence  the  danger  of  beginning 
to  innovate. 

One  good  effect,  however,  resulted  from  the  agitation  of  this 
subject.  The  Church  was  aroused  to  the  study  of  our  system 
of  government,  and  the  great  majority  of  her  most  intelligent 
and  sincere  friends  were  brought  to  see  and  appreciate  its  na- 
ture and  scriptural  character.  The  spirit  of  innovation  culmi- 
nated, among  the  traveling  preachers,  at  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1820.  Its  fate  was  sealed  by  the  discussions  and  devel- 
opments which  grew  out  of  the  action  of  this  body,  and  its 
strength  was  never  afterwards  so  great  among  the  traveling 
ministry;  for  although,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  it  continued  for 
several  years  to  agitate  the  Church,  yet  it  had  received  its 
death  wound  and  was  slowly  but  surely  dying.  And  if  the  ques- 
tion be  asked,  To  whom  is  the  Church  most  indebted  for  her 
preservation  from  the  evils  which  this  change  must  have  oc- 
casioned? we  answer,  To  William  McKendree  and  Joshua  Soule. 

As  an  illustration  of  some  of  the  foregoing  remarks  and  in 
historical  connection  with  this  attempt  to  modify  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  by  diminishing  the  power  of  the  epsicopacy, 
we  may  here  advert  to  a  subject  which  constitutes  a  very  im- 
portant chapter  in  the  history  of  American  Methodism  and  can- 
not be  overlooked  in  the  "Life  of  Bishop  McKendree."  We 
mean  the  question  of  lay  representation.  In  almost  every  effort 
which  had  been  made  at  innovation  upon  the  polity  and  usages 
of  Methodism,  from  the  days  of  Mr.  O'Kelly,  more  or  less 
stress  had  been  laid  upon  the  propriety  of  introducing  lay 
representatives  into  the  Annual  and  General  Conferences. 
The  leaders  in  all  these  movements,  aware  of  the  general  and 
strong  attachment  of  our  countrymen  to  the  principle  of  civil 
liberty  and  to  representation  in  the  law-making  department  in 
our  political  institutions  as  a  means  of  preserving  our  rights, 


268  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and,  ignoring  the  radical  difference  between  the  powers  and 
rights  that  belong  to  men  as  citizens  of  civil  government  and 
such  as  pertain  to  them  as  members  of  an  ecclesiastical  organ- 
ization, have  always  availed  themselves  of  the  popular  cry  for 
"equal  rights."  Like  the  cry  of  persecution,  with  which  it  has 
been  often  connected,  it  strikes  a  chord  in  the  American  bosom 
which,  whether  proceeding  from  demagogues  or  patriots,  from 
oppressed  innocence  or  canting  hypocrisy,  rarely  fails  to  excite 
sympathy.  And  so  strong  is  this  tendency  that  even  in  Church 
politics  a  great  many  persons,  instead  of  holding  their  passions 
in  abeyance  until  they  calmly  inquire  whether  the  oppression 
complained  of  be  real  or  only  imaginary,  at  once  take  the  part 
of  the  disaffected  against  the  discipline  and  usages  of  the  Church. 
So  it  has  ever  been,  and  so  perhaps  it  will  always  be;  although 
the  history  of  such  agitators  among  us  has  proved  the  truth  of 
the  old  saying  that  "those  who  are  loudest  in  their  complaints 
against  oppression  are  least  disposed  to  submit  to  be  governed 
and  most  ready  to  be  despotic  when  they  get  the  power."  Doubt- 
less the  effort  which  the  itinerant  preachers  were  making  to 
transfer  the  selection  of  presiding  elders  from  the  bishops  to 
themselves  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  many  of  the  local  preach- 
ers and  laymen  of  the  Church  in  their  behalf  and  kindled  afresh 
the  almost  extinguished  spark  of  disaffection  on  this  question. 
Some  of  those  among  the  ministry  who  favored  the  change  were 
secretly  in  favor  of  a  congregational  instead  of  an  itinerant  sys- 
tem and  naturally  sided  with  the  policy  to  introduce  laymen 
into  all  the  Conferences  of  the  Church;  while  it  is  certain  that 
many  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  those  who  advocated  the  former 
change  opposed  the  latter.  But,  as  a  general  rule,  those  itiner- 
ant preachers  opposed  to  the  suspended  resolutions  were  against 
lay  representation,  while  those  of  them  who  favored  the  latter 
were  also  friendly  to  the  former. 

Many  local  preachers  and  lay  members,  especially  in  the 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences,  became  excited  upon 
the  subject  of  their  rights  and  privileges.  The  spirit  of  inno- 
vation became  epidemic,  and  during  the  period  from  1820  to 
1824,  and  even  to  1828,  the  Church  was  constantly  agitated 
upon  the  subject  of  lay  representation.  A  paper  was  estab- 
lished at  Philadelphia,  called  the  Wesleyan  Repository,  to  which 
several  popular  preachers  contributed  largely.  It  soon  became 
clamorous  for  reform,  and  with  increased  bitterness  discussed 
the  subject  until  it  seemed  determined  to  change  or  destroy  the 
government  of  the  Church.  Its  radicalism  alarmed  the  fears  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  269 

some  who  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  suspended  resolutions 
and  brought  them  to  see  that  whatever  speculative  sentiments 
tend  to  a  disruption  of  the  Church  ought  to  be  abandoned  for 
the  sake  of  the  Church.  The  Repository  was  superseded  by  The 
Mutual  Rights,  published  in  Baltimore.  The  contest  which  en- 
sued was  a  most  unfortunate  and  mischievous  one  and  was  not 
quieted  for  many  years,  resulting,  in  1827,  in  the  secession  of 
many  ministers  and  members  and  the  formation  of  The  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church.  The  South  and  West,  having  always 
been  the  friends  of  the  Church  as  it  is  and  opposed  to  sudden 
and  serious  changes  in  her  economy,  were  less  affected  by  this 
agitation  than  the  East  and  North  and  consequently  suffered 
in  a  much  smaller  degree.  One  benefit,  however,  resulting  from 
this  controversy  was  that  the  evils  of  agitation  became  so  pal- 
pable that  those  seeking  the  passage  of  the  suspended  resolutions 
lost  sympathy  of  the  Church  generally,  many  regarding  radical- 
ism as  the  offshoot  of  the  attempted  innovation  upon  the  power 
of  the  episcopacy.  And,  although  this  connection  was  dis- 
claimed by  many  of  the  pure-minded  and  excellent  men  who  orig- 
inally advocated  the  election  of  presiding  elders  and  was  op- 
posed most  sternly  and  ably  by  some  of  them,  yet,  however 
undesigned  on  the  part  of  such,  doubtless  this  opposition  to  the 
existing  rules  of  the  Church  in  reference  to  presiding  elders  did 
contribute  to  the  excitement  which  resulted  so  disastrously. 
The  moral  taught  by  this  part  of  the  history  of  the  Church  but 
repeats  the  lesson  lately  suggested,  that  to  innovate  upon  a 
well-tried  and  efficient  system  of  Church  government  in  order 
to  carry  out  speculative  views  or  conform  the  polity  of  the 
Church  to  that  of  the  State  is  a  dangerous  experiment,  since  no 
one  can  foresee  the  end  of  such  agitation.1 

The  excitement  growing  out  of  this  attempt  of  the  "reformers" 
was  an  additional  ingredient  in  Bishop  McKendree's  cup  of  anx- 

*The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in 
1866,  tendered  to  her  laymen  and  local  preachers  a  representation  in  her 
Annual  and  General  Conferences  without  its  having  been  demanded  and 
when  no  other  vexed  question  was  connected  with  it.  But  in  the  case  re- 
fered  to  above,  this  question  was  associated  with  others  of  a  most  serious 
character,  involving  the  efficiency,  if  not  the  very  existence,  of  episcopacy 
and  itinerancy.  To  have  yielded  then  in  one  instance  would  have  neces- 
sitated other  and  more  damaging  concessions,  or  the  quiet  of  the  Church 
would  not  have  been  secured.  How  this  change  will  affect  the  Church  in 
the  South  remains  as  yet  an  unsolved  problem.  The  writer  hopes  and  be- 
lieves it  will  work  well. 


270  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

iety  for  the  four  years  succeeding  the  General  Conference  of 
1820.  He  seems  to  have  anticipated  that  the  struggle  among 
the  preachers  would  lead  to  another,  in  which  the  laity  would 
imitate  them  by  claiming  their  supposed  rights  also;  and  we 
shall  see  that  his  opposition  to  this  measure  was  such  that  he 
would  enter  into  no  compromise. 

In  resuming  the  examination  of  the  Journal  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree, we  find  that  he  remained  in  Baltimore,  and  at  Dr. 
Wilkins's,  near  the  city,  for  some  time  after  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1820  closed  its  session.  He  had  been  excused  from  the 
regular  official  work  on  accout  of  his  want  of  health  and  advised 
to  seek  its  restoration.  He  was  therefore  under  obligation  to 
take  only  such  exercise  as  might  conduce  to  this  end.  Having 
recovered  a  little  strength,  he  very  soon  began  to  feel  restless, 
and,  having  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  the  Rev.  Henry 
Smith  as  his  traveling  companion,  they  started  from  Dr.  Wil- 
kins's on  a  tour  of  preaching  and  visiting  the  Churches.  The 
following  account  is  given  of  that  tour  from  "Recollections  of 
an  Old  Itinerant,"  by  H.  Smith,  p.  268: 

"We  visited  Churches  and  families  on  our  way  to  Frederick 
City — namely,  Ward 's,  Bennett's,  Elliot's,  and  Gore's  and  then 
A.  Warfield's.  In  every  place  the  Bishop  was  able  to  preach, 
to  the  edification  of  the  Church  and  left  a  blessing  in  every 
neighborhood  and  family.  Thence  we  went  to  Liberty,  Win- 
stead's,  Willis's,  and  Frederick;  thence  to  Samuel  Phillip's; 
thence  to  Thomas  Key's.  .  .  .  The  Bishop  preached  at  Charles- 
town,  Brucetown,  Thomas  Baldwin's,  Winchester,  Stephens- 
burg,  Crum's  Meetinghouse,  the  White  House,  Sharpsburg,  and 
in  other  places,  besides  delivering  many  exhortations  in  families 
and  private  companies.  In  every  place  he  was  received  as  an 
angel  of  God  and  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed  to  the  people. 
He  made  use  of  the  Shannondale  and  Sulphur  Springs  waters, 
and  also  those  of  the  Balinda  Springs,  near  Sharpsburg,  and 
gained  strength. 

"On  our  return  to  Baltimore,  we  attended  a  camp  meeting 
on  Frederick  Circuit.  The  Bishop's  preaching  put  me  in  mind 
of  former  days,  when  he  went  forth  in  the  vigor  of  his  strength 
and  preached  in  the  power  and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit. 
Our  visit  to  Virginia  did  not  only  improve  the  Bishop's  health, 
but  was  attended  with  great  good  to  others.  We  soon  returned 
to  Baltimore,  and  about  the  last  of  September  left  the  city  for 
the  South.  We  moved  on  slowly,  visiting  the  Churches  in  Wash- 
ington, Georgetown,  Alexandria,  Dumfries,  Fredericksburg, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  271 

and  many  neighborhoods  on  our  way  to  Williamsburg.  From 
thence  we  proceeded  to  Hampton,  Norfolk,  Portsmouth,  Suf- 
folk, Summerton,  Murfreesboro,  and  through  Tarboro,  to  New- 
bern,  N.  C.;  from  thence  to  Wilmington  and  Georgetown,  and 
so  on,  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  preaching  in  many  country  places, 
as  well  as  in  cities  and  towns. 

"We  entered  Charleston  a  few  days  before  Christmas  and  had 
summer's  heat.  The  gardens  and  everything  looked  'gay  and 
green/  green  peas  in  full  bloom  and  fine  lettuce  in  abundance. 
But  before  we  left  there  (about  January  1, 1821),  we  had  heavy 
frost,  and  on  our  way  to  Columbia,  where  the  South  Carolina 
Conference  was  to  meet,  we  had  snow,  rain,  sleet,  and  ice  an  inch 
thick.  It  was  disagreeably  cold,  and  great  were  the  sufferings 
of  the  people,  white  as  well  as  colored.  The  houses  were  gen- 
erally open  and  the  people  thinly  clad  and  not  prepared  for  such 
a  change.  Some  of  the  oldest  people  said  they  had  never  seen 
such  a  winter.  There  is  something  very  disagreeable  in  a  South- 
ern winter's  air. 

"In  Columbia,  S.  C.,  we  met  the  Conference.  Bishop  George 
presided,  and  a  body  of  more  holy,  loving,  and  zealous  ministers 
of  Jesus  Christ  I  never  saw.  I  never  saw  more  strictness  ob- 
served in  the  examination  of  characters  in  any  Conference. 
Plain,  humble,  cross-bearing  men  are  its  members,  as  ready  to 
wait  on  themselves  as  any  other  Methodist  preachers,  and  re- 
markably kind  and  friendly  to  servants." 

From  Columbia,  S.  C.,  the  Bishop,  with  Brother  Smith  still 
as  his  traveling  companion,  came  back  to  the  Virginia  Conference 
which  was  held  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  on  Februray  28, 1821.  Here, 
leaving  the  Bishop  in  the  care  of  Lewis  Skidmore,  Smith  re- 
turned to  Baltimore,  remarking  (p.  271)  upon  this  tour:  "Per- 
haps in  no  part  of  my  life  did  I  serve  the  Church  more  faithfully 
and  usefully  than  while  I  was  helping  along  our  aged  and  afflicted 
Superintendent. ' ' 

The  following  letter  from  the  Bishop  to  the  Rev.  Joshua  Soule, 
is  dated  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  February  27, 1821: 

My  Dear  Brother:  My  health,  in  some  good  degree,  has  improved,  and 
I  begin  to  apprehend  that  not  much  more  improvement  is  to  be  expected; 
and  yet  such  is  my  remaining  debility  that  I  am  utterly  unable  to  do  the 
duties  of  an  effective  man. 

Such  is  the  state  of  the  roads  of  this  country,  with  the  shortness  of  the 
time  between  this  .Conference  and  that  of  Baltimore,  that  it  will  be 
impossible  for  me  to  get  there  in  time.  Indeed,  Bishop  George  thinks  he 
cannot  accomplish  the  journey  in  time.  Therefore,  at  the  earnest  solicita- 


272  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tion  of  Bishop  George,  I  have  given  up  Brother  Smith  to  go  on  with  his 
horse,  that  the  Bishop  may  follow  on  in  the  stage  after  Conference.  Per- 
haps we  might  have  found  some  other  way;  but  the  experiment  has  con- 
vinced me  that  the  benefit  which  the  Church  would  derive  from  my  ser- 
vices will  not  justify  me  in  making  such  a  sacrifice  of  my  remaining 
strength.  Hence  I  have  relinquished  the  idea  of  pursuing  the  Conferences 
any  farther  for  the  present. 

You  have  too  much  sensibility  to  suppose  that  this  conclusion  has  been 
arrived  at  without  some  feeling  on  my  part.  This  is  increased  by  the  obli- 
gation I  brought  myself  under  to  attend  the  New  York  Conference,  if  the 
Lord  permit.  I  have  pursued  this  intention  as  long  as  I  could  see  my  way 
clear  and  now  give  it  up  reluctantly,  though  with  a  clear  conscience. 

From  these  considerations,  I  have  determined  more  fully  to  adopt  the 
advice  of  the  General  Conference,  as  also  that  of  my  physicians  and  friend- 
ly counselors,  in  respect  to  my  course  of  conduct  in  order  to  canvalescence. 

I  believe  the  Lord  called  me  to  the  ministry,  but  I  was  called  to  the  su- 
perintendency  by  the  General  Conference,  and  by  the  same  authority  I 
am  released  from  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  that  station.  Consequent- 
ly I  feel  pretty  much  at  rest  while  I  contemplate  what  lies  before  me  in  my 
expected  course. 

The  course  I  took  at  the  last  General  Conference  respecting  the  sus- 
pended resolutions — to  lay  the  subject  before  the  Annual  Conferences — 
must  be  carried  out.  I  intend  to  pursue  the  same  course  taken  by  Bishop 
Asbury  and  myself  when  the  constitutionality  of  appointing  the  Genesee 
Conference  was  called  in  question.  I  expect  to  begin  at  the  next  Ohio 
Conference  and  so  go  through  the  Conferences.  I  design  to  lay  the  sub- 
ject so  before  them  as  to  set  them  completely  at  liberty,  so  far  as  respects 
me,  as  to  authorize  the  adoption,  and  thus  put  an  end  to  strife,  if  this  will 
do  it  and  thereby  give  additional  strength  to  the  constitution,  which  will 
guard  us  against  infringements  for  the  future.  However,  I  do  not  regard 
the  proposed  change  to  be,  in  reality,  any  improvement  of  our  system; 
and  I  very  much  doubt  if  it  will  operate  for  the  better  any  length  of  time. 
But  it  is  alleged  that  civil  usages  are  against  us,  and  perhaps  it  is  the  best 
we  can  bear;  and  if  admitted  so  as  to  prevent  future  injuries,  I  think  the 
system  of  government  may  still  be  carried  into  effect,  at  least  so  long  as 
we  work  harmoniously  together.  And  without  this  the  most  perfect  sys- 
tem could  not  save  us.  The  Lord's  system  of  government  did  not  continue 
to  please  the  Israelites,  and  "he  gave  them  statutes  that  were  not  good." 

I  have  but  few  confidential  associates,  nor  do  I  seek  more;  consequently, 
I  have  to  stand  too  much  alone  in  the  midst  of  such  momentous  affairs. 
This  made  the  contemplated  interview  with  yourself  so  much  the  more 
important  to  me.  But  I  learn  patiently  to  submit  to  disappointments. 
I  desire,  dear  brother,  to  hear  from  you.  Please  write  freely  and  senti- 
mentally. 

I  observe  in  a  letter  to  Brother  Mason  that  I  consented  to  your  con- 
tinuing in  New  York,  intending  you  should  understand  it  before  I  could 
write  to  you. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  273 

My  respects  to  Brother  Phoebus  and  inquiring  friends.  Present  my 
respects  to  Sister  Soule,  and  remember  me  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

Your  brother,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

To  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

The  Bishop  received  the  following  letter  from  Joshua  Soule, 
in  Baltimore,  who,  after  the  General  Conference  of  1820,  having 
declined  the  Agency  of  the  Book  Concern,  was  stationed  in  the 
city  of  New  York: 

NEW  YORK,  September  1,  1820. 

Dear  Bishop:  Your  letter  of  the  fourteenth  ultimo  came  to  me  while 
at  the  camp  meeting  on  Long  Island,  and  I  am  unable  to  express  the  satis- 
faction it  gave  me,  especially  when  I  learned  that  by  the  blessing  of  a  gra- 
cious Providence,  your  health,  which  was  so  precarious  when  I  left  you, 
was  improving  with  a  prospect  of  its  being  confirmed. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  describe  the  sensations  of  my  mind  during  the 
recent  session  of  the  General  Conference,  when  I  saw  your  feeble  state, 
your  emaciated  frame,  your  strength  prostrated,  and  your  debilitated  con- 
dition, like  a  reed  shaken  by  the  wind.  I  feared,  not  for  you,  but  for  the 
Church  of  God  committed  to  your  charge.  I  strove  in  vain  to  free  myself 
from  the  painful  apprehension  that  in  all  human  probability  your  super- 
intendence of  the  great  work  was  near  its  close  at  the  very  time  that  the 
state  of  the  Church,  both  in  the  ministry  and  membership,  was  such  as  to 
require  the  continuance  of  your  oversight.  My  chief  source  of  consolation 
during  this  conflict  was  a  firm  persuasion  of  the  wisdom  and  rectitude  of 
the  divine  councils  and  of  the  unerring  superintendence  of  the  providence 
of  God.  To  the  events  of  this  providence,  however  dark  and  unscrutable 
to  the  comprehension  of  limited  agency,  I  desire  to  bow  with  humble  sub- 
mission and  walk  by  faith  when  sight  is  not  permitted  to  guide  me.  But 
as  it  has  been  a  matter  of  prayer  with  me  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
would  raise  you  up  and  preserve  you  as  a  light  and  shield  to  our  Zion,  so 
shall  the  answer  of  it  be  a  subject  of  thanksgiving  and  praise. 

With  reference  to  my  conduct  at  the  last  General  Conference,  although 
it  was  not  dictated  by  passion,  but  was  the  result  of  the  most  calm  and  de- 
liberate reflection  of  which  I  was  capable  under  the  circumstances,  the 
time  which  has  elapsed  since  that  memorable  period  has  afforded  me  the 
opportunity  of  reviewing  that  whole  matter  with  sober  deliberation,  and 
after  the  most  careful,  and,  I  trust,  the  most  impartial  investigation,  I 
feel  a  satisfaction  in  my  own  mind  in  recurring  to  the  measures  I  then  pur- 
sued, for  the  absence  of  which  no  earthly  emolument  could  be  a  considera- 
tion. 

I  firmly  believed  at  the  time,  and  have  perceived  no  evidence  to  change 
my  opinion,  that  the  resolution  of  the  General  Conference  by  which  the 
presiding  elders  were  made  elective  by  the  Annual  Conferences  was  a  vio- 
lation of  the  constitution  and  a  radical  change  of  the  government  of  the 
Church.  With  this  conviction  I  might  have  gone  silently,  and  perhaps 
without  opposition,  to  the  altar  of  consecration.  But  how  should  I  have 
18 


274  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

stood  in  .the  judgment  of  my  own  mind?  or  how  should  I  be  able  to  answer 
for  this  silence  to  that  great  religious  body  to  which  the  voice  of  the  Con- 
ference had  placed  me  in  the  most  responsible  relation?  I  think,  consider- 
ing the  nature,  continuance,  and  extent  of  the  controversy,  he  must  have 
been  a  superficial  observer  of  human  nature  who  should  suppose  that  the 
subject  would  rest  sufficient  for  the  time  being,  that  the  principle  was  ceded 
and  the  foundation  laid  for  the  perfecting  of  the  contemplated  building. 
The  best  defense  which  could  be  made  at  the  future  period  would  be  weak 
and  ineffectual  after  such  an  obvious  relinquishment  of  the  grand  principle 
upon  which  our  ecclesiastical  polity  rests.  Under  this  view  of  the  subject, 
had  I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a  general  superintendent  with  submission, 
I  should  have  felt  myself  bound  to  give  a  reason  for  my  conduct  to  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  who  are  already  in  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  and 
who  have  subscribed  to  our  form  of  episcopacy.  This  was  a  responsibility 
which  I  was  conscious  I  could  not  sustain.  Since  the  General  Conference 
I  have  frequently  thought  that,  under  the  extraordinary  circumstances  in 
which  I  was  placed,  I  may  have  spoken  or  acted  with  apparent  disrespect 
to  you  or  Bishops  George  and  Roberts  or  to  the  Conference.  Should  you 
or  they  have  marked  anything  of  this  kind,  I  deeply  regret  it  and  can  give 
assurance  that  no  irreverence  was  designed.  And,  under  the  necessity  of 
differing  in  opinion,  I  wished  to  express  that  difference  in  as  respectful 
language  as  I  could,  consistently  with  that  frankness  which  I  have  ever 
valued  as  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  human  character. 

I  had  reason  to  expect  that  on  my  return  to  this  section  of  the  work  my 
situation  would  not  be  very  pleasant.  But  the  most  profound  silence  has 
prevailed  with  respect  to  the  business  of  the  Conference,  and  I  am  treated 
with  much  greater  apparent  respect  than  before. 

As  I  was  not  able  to  control  my  temporal  circumstances  without  a  sac- 
rifice which  I  was  unable  to  bear  and,  at  the  same  time,  receiving  a  letter 
from  Brother  Roszel  in  which  he  expressed  an  opinion  that,  all  things  con- 
sidered, it  might  be  as  well  for  me  to  remain  here  for  the  present  year,  I 
received  an  appointment  in  the  city.  At  the  same  time  I  received  instruc- 
tions from  Bishop  George  to  remove  to  the  Baltimore  Conference  at  its  next 
session. 

This  is  my  inclination  and  desire.  But  I  wish  it  to  be  explicitly  under- 
stood that  I  hold  myself  in  perfect  readiness  to  move  to  any  part  of  the 
work  where  it  shall  be  judged  most  expedient.  I  have  resigned  all  ideas 
of  a  local  nature.  House  and  home  affect  me  no  more,  and  I  have  cause 
to  praise  God  that  after  a  long  and  painful  struggle  my  dear  companion 
is  fully  with  me  in  this  view.  I  owe  no  man  anything  and,  though  poor,  I 
have  enough.  I  covet  no  man's  silver  or  gold  or  apparel,  but  prove  by 
happy  experience  that  "  godliness  with  contentment  is  great  gain." 

You  will  doubtless  see  Bishop  George  in  Baltimore  or  its  vicinity  and 
receive  from  him  a  narrative  of  the  disastrous  events  which  have  transpired 
in  this  station,  suffice  it  to  say  that  several  hundreds  have  separated  them- 
selves from  the  fellowship  of  our  Church,  established  an  independent  con- 
gregation, and  embodied  under  a  system  of  government  which  secures  a 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  275 

perfect  equality  of  rights  and  powers  to  every  member,  male  and  female, 
properly  speaking,  an  ecclesiastical  democracy  in  the  most  extensive  sense 
of  the  word.1 

The  poor  deluded  Africans,  both  in  the  city  and  in  Brooklyn,  have  de- 
clared themselves  independent  of  us  and  are,  it  is  to  be  feared,  approaching 
a  state  of  the  wildest  disorder  and  of  ruin.  Deeply  involved  in  debt  and 
without  the  means  of  extricating  themselves,  their  churches  mortgaged  for 
security,  and  the  periods  of  payment  approaching,  their  situation  is  truly 
lamentable.  While  they  were  subject  to  us  there  was  a  disposition  in  the 
public  mind  to  aid  them,  but  convinced  that  they  are  incapable  of  govern- 
ing themselves  and  consequently  that  assistance  would  be  thrown  away 
were  it  given  in  their  present  state,  that  disposition  has  subsided. 

Various  have  been  the  ostensible  causes  which  have  led  to  these  un- 
happy effects.  But  there  is  a  real  cause  which  is  unperceived  or,  if  per- 
ceived, is  unacknowledged.  I  think,  soon  after  my  appointment  to  the 
charge  of  the  Book  Concern,  I  communicated  to  you  my  persuasion  that 
serious  and  very  unpleasant  events  awaited  us  in  this  city.  Whether  the 
grounds  on  which  this  persuasion  rested  were  assigned,  I  do  not  recollect. 
I  was  then  the  silent  and  unofficious  observer  of  men  and  measures,  and  I 
clearly  saw  that  the  seed  was  sown  and  had  taken  such  deep  root  as  to 
warrant  the  expectation  of  a  copious  harvest. 

I  frequently  heard  the  cry  of  "popery,"  "ecclesiastical  tyranny,"  "un- 
limited power,"  "oppression,"  etc.,  from  those  who  had  promised  to  "act  as 
sons  in  the  gospel,"  and  with  some  of  those  who  had  sounded  the  alarm 
there  was  too  strong  an  appearance  of  the  existence  of  what  they  would  be 
thought  so  much  to  oppose.  To  this  cry  there  was  a  responsive  action  in 
the  official  department  of  the  Church;  and  so  powerful  was  the  sentiment 
of  "equality"  and  "independence,"  that  it  was  extremely  difficult,  not  to  say 
impossible,  for  the  proper  officer  to  keep  the  official  body,  when  met  for 
business,  subject  to  the  common  rules  of  order.  Through  the  official  mem- 
bers this  strange  fire  was  kindled  in  the  classes.  The  consequence  was 
that  the  ministry  was  not  only  treated  with  disrespect,  but  with  contempt. 
To  be  charged  unblushingly  with  deceit,  hypocrisy,  and  falsehood  became 
the  order  of  the  day.  At  length  it  comes  to  issue  on  a  plain  and  unequivocal 
point  of  discipline.  The  question  is,  Shall  it  be  carried  into  effect?  A  num- 
ber of  the  influential  official  characters  say  it  shall  not.  The  preacher  in 
charge  says  it  shall  at  all  hazards.  It  is  a  point  which  admits  of  no  modi- 
fication; and  the  official  men  in  opposition  immediately  resign  their  office 
and  withdraw  from  the  Church.  The  explosion  is  tremendous;  many 
leaders  follow  the  example  and  carry  their  classes  with  them. 

Admitting  this  to  be  the  true  state  of  the  case,  you  will  perceive  how 
difficult  it  is  either  to  prevent  or  cure  the  evil.  The  fatal  source  of  it  is 
deep  and  wide.  Happy  would  I  be  if  I  could  believe  it  would  stop  in  this 
city,  but  the  deadly  principle  is  too  extensively  diffused.  You  will  also 
perceive  how  critically  I  am  situated,  entertaining  these  views  of  the 

'This  is  doubtless  an  allusion  to  the  secession  of  a  preacher — Jamea  M.  Stillwell— and  about 
three  hundred  members  of  the  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York. 


276  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

origin  and  progress  of  this  schism.  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  guided  by 
that  "wisdom  which  is  from  above."  0  how  ardently  I  could  wish  that 
you  could  visit  us  and  aid  us  by  your  council  and  your  influence! 

With  reference  to  the  acts  of  the  General  Conference  in  relation  to  local 
preachers,  my  situation  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  rule  was  such  as 
to  prevent  me  from  analyzing  it  in  that  way  its  importance  required.  I 
have  since  given  it  a  careful  investigation,  the  result  of  which  is  that  it  is 
attended  with  several  serious  difficulties  which  I  must  make  the  subject 
of  another  communication.  But  I  need  not  suggest  to  you  how  important 
it  is  that  the  greatest  prudence  be  observed  in  all  communications  on  this 
subject.  We  have  reached  an  eventful  epoch  in  our  history.  May  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  preserve  us  in  the  unity  of  the  apostolic  faith  and  in  the 
harmony  and  simplicity  of  the  gospel  order  of  discipline! 

Yours,  most  affectionately,  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

A  few  days  after  the  foregoing  letter  was  written,  the  following 
communication  was  dispatched.  As  it  explains  its  object  and 
illustrates  the  character  of  the  Bishop  by  the  influence  which  it 
was  thought  he  could  exert  over  the  disaffected  portion  of  the 
Methodists  in  New  York,  we  insert  it: 

NEW  YORK,  September  7,  1820. 

Dear  Bishop:  At  a  meeting  of  the  stationed  preachers  in  this  city,  to- 
gether with  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district  yesterday,  I  was  requested 
to  write  to  you  immediately,  requesting  you,  if  possible,  to  visit  this  sta- 
tion without  delay.  It  is  believed  by  the  preachers  that  your  presence  and 
council  at  this  crisis  of  affairs  here  might  be  of  essential  benefit  to  the 
Church.  The  principle  actors  in  the  late  separation,  while  they  appear  to 
have  lost  all  confidence  in  the  men  placed  in  charge,  manifest  the  most 
implicit  confidence  in  you;  and  some  of  them  have  expressed  a  desire  for 
you  to  come,  and  have  inquired  after  you  with  apparent  solicitude,  saying 
if  you  had  been  here,  things  would  have  been  otherwise, 

For  myself,  I  have  no  expectation  that  your  influence  would  bring  back 
to  the  Church  any  considerable  number  of  those  who  have  departed  from 
us;  yet  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  a  visit  from  you  might  be  of  great  use 
under  the  present  circumstances.  The  grounds  of  this  persuasion  are  of 
such  a  character  as  to  render  it  difficult  to  communicate  by  letter.  Let 
nothing  of  a  pecuniary  kind  prevent  you  from  visiting  us.  I  pledge  my- 
self for  the  reimbursement  of  your  expenses.  I  would  have  been  in  Balti- 
more to  present  the  case  to  you  and  attend  you  to  this  place  but  for  the 
imperious  call  for  my  services  in  this  city. 

You  will  please  to  give  me  an  answer  immediately  on  receiving  this;  and, 
if  it  is  possible  for  you  to  visit  us,  let  me  know  the  probable  time  when  we 
may  expect  your  arrival;  otherwise,  let  me  know  where  I  may  meet  you 
by  mail  from  this  time  until  the  South  Carolina  Conference. 

Yours,  with  esteem  and  respect,  JOSHUA  SOULE. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  277 

We  cannot  deny  ourselves  and  our  readers  the  gratification 
of  inserting  the  following  very  interesting  letter.  The  writer 
was  then  the  stationed  preacher  in  the  city  of  Savannah,  which 
was  visited  by  that  most  fearful  pestilence,  the  yellow  fever. 
Multitudes  had  died  and  thousands  had  fled  the  city,  but  our 
beloved  brother  had  braved  the  danger  and,  with  his  family, 
stayed  in  his  charge  and  faithfully  and  alone  ministered  to  the 
religious  wants  of  the  striken  city.  In  this  season  of  peril  and 
affliction,  the  Bishop  had  assured  him  by  letter  of  his  sympathy 
and  encouraged  him  to  duty  by  promising  to  remember  him 
in  prayer.  Those  who  may  have  been  similarly  situated  can 
appreciate  the  feelings  of  the  writer,  a  man  who  never  deserted 
the  post  of  danger  and  whose  triumphant  death  in  the  midst 
of  arduous  duty  has  afforded  a  suitable  finale  to  such  a  life: 

SAVANNAH,  October  31,  1820. 

Very  Dear  and  Reverend  Sir:  Your  most  kind  letter  was  as  dew  to  the 
parched  grass.  Brother  Hall,  of  Norfolk,  had  before  given  me  the  long- 
wished-for  intelligence  of  your  better  health  and  intimated  its  being  prob- 
able that  you  would  attend  our  Conference.  That  you  had  purposed  to 
do  so,  I  was  not  uninformed,  but  I  greatly  feared  your  want  of  health. 

I  do  most  heartily  join  you,  my  dear  father,  in  blessing  and  praising 
God  for  all  his  mercies  to  you  and  the  Church;  and  surely  you  have  my 
humble  prayers  that  you  may  more  amd  more  prevail  against  all  evil  and 
live  to  the  edification  and  comfort  of  the  Church. 

I  cannot  tell  you  with  how  lively  a  feeling  of  love  and  thankfullness  I 
read  the  expression  of  your  good  wishes  for  me,  how  sincerely  I  thank  you 
for  praying  for  me.  Well,  it  is  even  as  you  desired.  The  dreary,  heartless 
scenes  of  woe  upon  woe,  disease,  and  death,  and  desolation,  are  passing  or 
passed  away,  and  I  still  live.  My  wife  still  lives,  my  children  and  my  serv- 
ants— all  are  alive  and  in  health.  We  have  had  no  death  or  sickness  in 
our  family  through  all  this  sickening,  dying  time.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God 
who  hath  kept  us  for  his  word's  sake  and  that  none  may  be  discouraged 
when  sent  to  serve  the  Church  in  this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death! 

I  am  unable  to  give  you  anything  like  an  account  of  the  state  of  the 
Church  in  this  place.  For  nearly  two  months  we  have  had  (strictly)  no 
Church — no  sacrament,  no  love  feast,  no  class  meeting.  Our  people  have 
been  scattered  abroad,  wherever  they  could  find  a  retreat  from  the  deso- 
lating sickliness  of  the  city.  I  might  almost  say,  I  was  left  alone.  But 
hope  anticipates  a  brighter  day  at  hand.  O  that  God  may  return  with  the 
people  and  fill  us  with  salvation! 

I  said  we  have  had  no  Church,  no  class  meetings.  We  have  had  nothing 
that  is  peculiarly  ours;  and  perhaps  my  situation  for  the  last  six  or  seven 
weeks  has  been  as  novel  as  it  has  been  difficult  and  delicate. 

When  the  character  and  prevalence  of  our  death-bearing  disease  had  so 
alarmed  the  city  as  to  drive  six-sevenths  of  its  entire  white  population  from 


278  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

their  homes,  our  people  fled  with  the  rest;  and  I  had  not  remaining  steward 
or  leader  or  as  many  members  as  would  form  a  class.  Our  Church  was 
situated  in  the  most  fatal  and  the  most  deserted  part  of  the  city  and  re- 
mote from  the  remaining  inhabitants  generally.  I  was  solicited  to  remove 
preaching  to  the  new  Presbyterian  Church,  which  was  recommended  from 
its  being  in  a  central  and  more  healthful  part  of  the  city.  And  this  was 
further  urged  because  the  remnants  of  the  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  con- 
gregations, as  well  as  the  few  remaining  ones  of  my  own,  were  all  looking 
to  me  for  the  services  of  the  ministry.  It  was  also  proposed  that  the  pews 
should  be  made  free  and  that  collections  should  be  made  upon  the  same 
plan  and  for  the  same  uses  as  in  the  Methodist  Church.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, and  for  the  present  distress  only,  I  consented.  As  far  as  I  can 
yet  judge,  the  measure  has  had  a  good  effect.  On  next  Sabbath  I  return 
to  our  church. 

I  hope  the  state  of  religion  in  our  Conference  generally  is  better  than 
the  last  year.  Accounts  are  good  from  the  upper  parts  of  this  State. 
Columbia  lives,  and  Camden  is  all  alive.  Poor  Savannah !  We  trust  in  the 
Lord  that  we  shall  be  saved  from  dying.  Charleston  is  as  formerly,  little 
increase,  but  no  declension  of  the  Church.  A  local  preacher,  by  the  name 
of  Triggs,  has  been  laboring  on  the  south  of  the  Altamaha  River,  just 
above  the  Satilla  Circuit.  He  tells  me  that  he  has  formed  a  two  weeks' 
circuit  and  has  joined  fifty  in  society.  They  wish  a  circuit  preacher.  Triggs 
has  been  employed  in  this  good  work  constantly  since  the  month  of  May. 
He  represents  the  people  as  being  very  destitute  and  the  face  of  the 
country  as  being  better  than  within  the  Satilla  Circuit. 

With  the  sincerest  reverence  and  affection,  your  dutiful  son, 

W.  CAPERS. 

P.  S. — Please  give  my  love  to  the  brethren,  Hall  and  Smith.        W.  C. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  the  attention  of  the  Bishop  was 
turned  with  great  interest  to  the  condition  of  the  Indian  tribes 
within  the  United  States.  But  the  newly  organized  Missionary 
Society  was  not  able  to  supply  the  funds  necessary  to  carry  for- 
ward his  plan.  He  aroused  the  preachers  to  the  importance  of 
the  enterprise,  planned  and  advocated  the  system  of  general 
and  systematic  contributions  for  missionary  operations,  and 
may  be  justly  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  missionary  finan- 
cial plan  which  has  already  done  so  much  and  promises  to  do 
vastly  more  for  the  conversion  of  the  children  of  the  forest  as 
well  as  for  other  fields  of  missionary  effort.  It  was  during  the 
early  part  of  the  year  1822  that  he  resolved  to  send  a  missionary 
to  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  the  writer,  at  the  Bishop's  request, 
had  consented  to  undertake  the  task.  But  the  state  of  his 
health  and  the  remonstrances  of  his  charge,  which  was  likely  to 
be  left  destitute  of  a  preacher  the  remainder  of  the  year,  induced 
the  Bishop  to  decline  sending  him.  Not  long  afterwards,  how- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  279 

ever,  in  1823,  he  found  others  whom  he  appointed  to  that  Na- 
tion, and  whose  success  was  wonderful. 

Having  resolved  upon  attempting  to  Christianize  the  Indians, 
Dr.  Capers  was  selected  and  appointed  missionary  to  South 
Carolina  Conference  and  to  the  Indians  in  1821,  with  instruc- 
tions to  visit  the  Choctaws  should  the  Creeks  refuse  to  receive 
missionaries. 

Of  course  this  devoted  servant  of  the  Church  did  not  hesitate  to 
enter  promptly  upon  the  duty  assigned  him.  Brought  up  in  af- 
fluence, accustomed  to  the  refinements  of  a  city  life,  and  highly 
cultivated  in  mind  and  manners,  he  had  cast  his  lot  with  the 
Methodists  at  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  Church  in  South 
Carolina  when  it  greatly  needed  his  personal  and  family  in- 
fluence. His  position  in  society,  his  learning,  talents,  and  zeal, 
were  fully  and  most  efficiently  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Method- 
ism. A  train  of  unfortunate  events  had  transpired  in  Charles- 
ton tending  to  divide  the  Church  and  degrade  her  ministry  in 
popular  estimation.  The  wealthy  and  intelligent  portion  of  the 
community  looked  down  upon  the  Methodist  preachers  with 
mingled  feelings  of  suspicion  and  contempt.  It  remained  for 
Dr.  Capers  to  correct  this  state  of  public  sentiment  and  by  his 
purity,  zeal,  and  eloquence  to  elevate  both  the  character  of  the 
Church  and  the  ministry.  Born  near  Charleston,  in  1790,  of  a 
family  respected  and  honored  by  the  whole  community;  a  grad- 
uate of  the  State  College,  and  of  unquestionable  personal  in- 
tegrity, God  seems  to  have  raised  him  up  for  the  defense  and 
propagation  of  Methodism  in  that  proud  and  chivalrous  section 
of  the  country.  In  addition  to  all  his  other  advantages,  he 
happily  blended  the  most  bland  and  prepossessing  manners 
with  a  simple  Christian  gravity  and  unstudied  dignity;  and, 
superadded  to  all,  the  attractions  of  extraordinary  eloquence. 
That  eloquence  was  not  the  timid  and  superficial  counterfeit 
which  too  often  passes  for  the  genuine,  but  combined  all  the 
elements  of  true  evangelical  eloquence.  It  was  instructive,  per- 
suasive, pungent,  powerful;  full  of  argument  and  illustration, 
earnest,  searching,  and  replete  with  the  demonstration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  power.  It  was  impossible  to  form  his  ac- 
quaintance without  being  struck  with  his  manners  or  to  hear 
him  without  feeling  an  attraction.  The  Church  loved  him  as 
much  for  his  humility  and  unselfishness  as  she  admired  his  tal- 
ents and  success;  and  thousands  of  ears  which  heretofore  had 
been  closed  by  pride  or  prejudice  to  Methodist  preaching,  lis- 


280  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tened  with  rapture  and  reverence  to  the  sweet  and  pursuasive 
tones  of  his  musical  voice. 

The  following  interesting  communication  was  addressed  by 
Dr.  Capers  to  Bishop  McKendree: 

LODEBAR,  August  14,  1821. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Just  a  week  ago  I  returned  from  an  excursion 
into  Georgia,  in  which  I  visited  Augusta,  Wrightsboro,  Greensboro,  Salem, 
Athens,  Lexington,  Elberton,  and  Washington,  besides  Camden,  Columbia, 
and  Edgefield  Courthouse,  in  this  State. 

On  this  tour  I  was  occupied  forty  days  and  obtained  $600  for  the  mis- 
sion. The  whole  amount  now  collected  stands  at  about  $2,800. 

To-morrow  I  set  out  for  the  Creeks.  As  far  as  at  present  I  can  be  de- 
termined, this  visit  will  be  confined  to  the  Creeks  and  is  intended  to  ascer- 
tain whether  they  will  receive  us  or  not;  and  if  they  receive  us,  to  select 
and  secure  a  site  and  engage  for  occupying  it  without  delay.  This  done, 
I  purpose  to  return  to  them  with  a  missionary,  perhaps  Brother  Hill;  or,  if 
they  will  not  admit  us  among  them,  he  will  accompany  me  to  the  Choctaws. 
Whether,  in  the  event  of  a  favorable  reception  among  the  Creeks,  I  ought 
to  seek  more  than  one  infant  mission  among  them,  or  whether,  having 
planted  one  grain  of  seed  in  that  field,  I  should  go  on  to  the  Choctaws,  re- 
mains yet  to  be  determined.  In  either  case,  I  must  prefer  the  gospel's  own 
way  of  disseminating  itself.  Two  men,  or  a  half  dozen  men,  or  men  with 
their  wives,  or  a  helper  each,  not  huddled  together  at  the  outset,  but  placed 
at  different  points,  may  grow  into  so  many  enlarged  missions,  with  branch- 
es detached  through  the  intermediate  country  so  as  to  cover  the  whole. 

I  now  purpose  to  go  directly  to  the  agent  for  the  Creek  Nation  (Colonel 
Crowell),  and  having  delivered  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War  (Mr.  J. 
C.  Calhoun),  will  concert  with  the  agent  and  such  other  persons  as  I  may 
approve  the  best  introduction  to  the  Indians.  At  Milledgeville  I  hope  to 
meet  with  Col.  Richard  A.  Blount,  and  will  probably  obtain  an  interview 
with  General  Mitchell,  lately  the  agent. 

I  have  not  been  unmindful  that  with  the  Creek  Indians  especially  it  is 
of  importance  to  distinguish  between  the  charity  of  the  Church  and  the 
policy  of  the  government.  In  this  work  both  seek  the  same  object;  but 
the  Indians  may  be  less  suspicious  of  the  one  than  the  other. 

While  in  Georgia,  I  was  careful  to  be  informed  who  of  the  more  distin- 
guished citizens  of  that  State  not  immediately  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment are  known  to  advantage  among  the  Indians  and  sought  the  counte- 
nance of  such  for  our  mission.  I  now  have  a  letter  from  General  Mclntosh 
to  the  Indian  chief  of  that  name,  and,  when  at  Milledgeville,  expect  to  re- 
ceive letters  from  General  Mitchell  and  General  Merriwether.  Perhaps 
there  are  none  of  our  countrymen  who  can  better  serve  us  than  these 
gentlemen. 

Is  it  not  a  pity  that  I  have  not  a  letter  from  the  Bishop  or  the  bishops 
and  Conference  to  the  chiefs  and  council  of  the  Nation,  setting  forth  our 
objects  and  the  motives  that  induce  us  to  it  and  soliciting  them  to  talk  with 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  281 

me  as  their  brother  and  the  agent  of  the  Church?  I  am  not  sanguine  of 
success  among  this  tribe,  but  in  case  of  a  failure  I  would  not  have  it  charge- 
able to  any  omission  on  our  part. 

But  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  make  poor  work  in  enlisting  missionaries. 
Brother  Christian  G.  Hill  is  the  only  preacher  upon  whom  I  can  depend 
willing  to  enter  upon  the  bold,  blessed  service.  If  I  go  to  the  Choctaws, 
I  must  make  large  calculations  on  Brother  Hersey.  Indeed,  as  moderate 
as  have  been  my  collections,  I  fear  the  want  of  men,  more  than  of  money, 
will  give  limits  to  our  work. 

You  shall  hear  from  me  as  soon  as  anything  shall  have  transpired  be- 
tween us  and  the  Creeks.  I  know  you  always  pray  for  the  blessing  and  di- 
rection of  God  in  this  great  business.  I  have  no  confidence  but  in  his  prov- 
idence. As  for  myself,  I  feel  every  way  assured  of  an  unfitness,  not  to  say 
inadequacy,  to  its  accomplishment.  I  feel  much,  I  fear  much,  and  I  should 
set  out  despairing,  but  that  I  hope  for  help  from  the  Almighty  and 
succor  from  his  Spirit. 

Your  son  in  the  gospel,  W.  CAPERS. 

Dr.  Capers  succeeded  in  procuring  two  sites  for  missions  in 
the  Creek  Nation,  Asbury  and  McKendree,  to  which  preachers 
were  regularly  appointed  at  the  ensuing  Conference.  In  a  year 
or  two,  however,  the  name  of  McKendree  was  dropped  from 
the  Minutes,  although  Asbury  Mission  continued  to  be  filled 
with  missionaries  until  the  Indians  determined  to  emigrate  to 
the  West.  Dr.  Capers  was  also  the  superintendent  of  this  work 
for  three  years,  although  filling  the  station  of  Milledgeville  a 
part  of  the  time. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  an  important  era  in  the  history  of 
Methodism,  as  well  as  in  the  life  of  Bishop  McKendree,  the  era 
which  dates  the  beginning  of  a  more  systematic  and  vigorous 
effort  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  gospel,  by  missionary  oper- 
ations, to  the  Indians,  and  to  the  colored  people  both  in  Ameri- 
ca and  Africa,  enterprises  with  which  Bishop  McKendree  deeply 
sympathized  and  to  which,  by  his  wise  and  far-seeing  councils, 
as  well  as  by  his  official  and  personal  influence,  he  greatly  con- 
tributed. 

Among  the  appointees  to  the  Cherokee  Missions,  at  different 
times,  were  Andrew  Jackson  Crawford,  William  McMahon, 
Francis  A.  Owen,  Dickson  C.  McLeod,  John  B.  McFerrin  and  his 
brother  William,  A.  L.  P.  Green,  J.  W.  Hanner,  Greenberry 
Garrett,  James  J.  Trott,  and  others.  Various  schools  and  cir- 
cuits were  organized.  Revivals  occurred  in  different  places,  and 
an  increase  of  over  six  hundred  members  was  reported  in  a  sin- 
gle year.  The  Tennessee  Conference  furnished  the  missionaries 
to  this  tribe. 


282  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Similar  scenes  took  place  in  the  Choctaw  Missions,  and  Alex- 
ander Talley,  of  the  Mississippi  Conference,  published  an  ac- 
count of  a  most  glorious  work  of  grace  in  that  Nation.  Nor  were 
these  revivals  temporary  in  their  effects  upon  these  aboriginal 
tribes;  for  long  subsequent  to  their  removal  across  the  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  down  to  the  present  time,  these  large  tribes 
have  retained  their  Christian  character  and  Church  organiza- 
tion. The  writer  has  repeatedly  visited  the  Wyandottes,  Dela- 
wares,  Shawnees,  Chickasaws,  Kickapoos,  Cherokees,  Choctaws, 
and  Creeks,  held  Conferences  for  them,  and  witnessed  their 
piety  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  Thousands  upon 
thousands  of  them  have  passed  to  the  upper  kingdom  and  their 
places  in  the  Church  are  yet  filled  with  zealous  and  holy  suc- 
cessors. The  names  of  McKendree,  Bangs,  Soule,  and  their 
associates,  who  were  foremost  in  organizing  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  1819,  and  of  those 
heroic  men  who  have  carried  into  practical  effect  the  benevo- 
lent design  of  that  Society  through  fifty  years  of  privation  and 
toil  will  be  honored  while  the  world  shall  endure. 

This  was  the  era  in  which  American  Methodism  strikingly 
developed  the  animus  of  her  founders  and  illustrated  the  true, 
apostolic  spirit  of  Wesley,  Coke,  and  Asbury.  Almost  simul- 
taneously the  Indians,  the  slaves  in  the  South,  their  race  in 
Africa,  and  the  natives  of  South  America,  the  work  of  Bible 
distribution  and  Sunday  school  instruction  called  forth  the 
sympathies  and  earnest  efforts  of  the  Church.  It  was  a  glorious 
era. 

Prominent,  not  to  say  foremost,  in  planning  and  sustaining 
these  noble  enterprises  was  our  venerated  Bishop.  Such  works 
engrossed  his  thoughts  and  occupied  all  his  time  and  energies. 
He  thought  and  cared  for  little  else.  His  whole  life  was  one 
long,  yearning  effort  to  spread  the  pure  gospel  of  Christ  over  all 
classes  of  men.  He  was  always  planning  and  working  for  this 
end,  even  to  his  last  hours. 

In  looking  back  to  the  events  alluded  to  in  this  chapter  and 
to  the  noble-hearted  and  devoted  men  who  were  the  leaders  and 
agents  in  arousing  and  developing  the  energies  of  the  Church, 
the  writer,  who  began  his  itinerant  career  in  the  fall  of  1817, 
feels  a  grateful  satisfaction  in  having  had  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  many  of  them.  Few  of  them  survive,  but  their  mem- 
ories and  their  deeds  will  ever  live  in  the  respect  and  affection 
of  Methodists. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Tennesse  Conference  in  1823 — Bishops  McKendree  and  George  present 
— Vertigo — McKendree 's  purpose  to  cross  the  mountains  in  the  winter 
abandoned — The  promise  to  take  him  to  Baltimore  in  the  spring — 
Starts  in  March,  1824 — Companions  in  travel — Difficulties  on  the  route 
— Crosses  the  Cumberland  Mountains — Winton's — Wilkerson's — Cross- 
es the  Alleghany  Mountains — The  night  at  the  hut — Crosses  the  Yadkin 
in  a  canoe — Wilkesboro — Salem— Guilford  Battle  Ground — The  effect  of 
that  battle  in  1791 — Person  County — Crosses  Roanoke  River — At  Tay- 
lor's— Boydtown — Adam's — Crossing  Meherrin  River — Calls  on  the 
families  of  his  friends  on  his  route— R.  C.  Boothe's — In  Petersburg,  Va. 
— Richmond — Alexandria — Georgetown — At  Judge  McLean's — Mc- 
Kinney's — Mr.  Calhoun's  letter — Dr.  Bascom  Chaplain  to  Congress — 
In  Baltimore — W.  Wilkins — Dr.  Samuel  Baker — Impression  made  by 
the  tour. 

ON  November  26,  1823,  the  Tennessee  Annual  Con/erence 
began  its  session  in  Huntsville,  Ala.  Bishops  McKendree  and 
George  attended.  The  health  of  the  former  was  very  infirm 
from  a  complication  of  chronic  diseases,  and  his  strength  was 
nearly  exhausted  from  travel  and  exposure,  having  recently  at- 
tended the  Missouri  and  Kentucky  Conferences;  yet  he  would 
undertake  to  preside  when  invited  to  do  so.  On  one  occasion, 
and  during  the  pendency  of  some  rather  perplexing  business, 
he  became  a  little  excited  and  confused  from  vertigo.  It  was  the 
first,  and,  indeed,  the  only  time,  the  writer  ever  saw  him  so  in 
the  chair.  His  old  and  faithful  friend,  Thomas  Logan  Douglass, 
observed  his  embarrassment  and  modestly  assisted  to  relieve 
him  upon  the  question  of  order  under  consideration.  After  the 
session  of  the  day  had  closed,  the  same  friend  visited  him  pri- 
vately and  told  him  he  had  noticed  he  was  suffering  from  verti- 
go; and  when  he  should  find  himself  in  that  condition,  he  ought 
not  to  consent  to  take  the  chair.  The  Bishop  took  the  sugges- 
tion very  kindly,  thanked  him,  but  seemed  dejected  at  the  ap- 
prehension of  becoming  useless  in  the  Church.  What  old  and 
laborious  minister  who  has  come  to  the  "sear  and  yellow  leaf  of 
life"  cannot  sympathize  with  him  in  these  feelings? 

After  the  close  of  the  Conference,  Brother  Douglass  and  the 
writer  waited  upon  the  Bishop  to  ascertain  his  contemplated 
movements  before  the  ensuing  General  Conference.  He  replied 
that  he  must  be  in  Baltimore  by  May  1,  and  that  to  be  certain 


284  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  it,  he  must  start  forthwith  to  cross  the  mountains.  We  re- 
minded him  it  was  then  about  December  1,  the  roads  were  al- 
ready bad,  the  weather  cold,  and  the  distance  so  great  that,  be- 
fore he  could  make  it,  he  would  be  caught  in  the  snowstorms  of 
the  mountains  and  be  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  some  cabin, 
where  he  would  find  himself  without  acquaintances  or  comforts; 
that,  in  view  of  his  feeble  health,  we  could  not  consent  to  see  him 
start  on  such  a  journey,  especially  without  a  traveling  compan- 
ion. We  therefore  advised  him  to  remain  with  us  until  the 
spring  should  open,  and  promised  that  if  he  would  do  so,  we, 
being  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  would  go  with  him 
to  Baltimore.  After  hesitating  awhile,  he  yielded  to  our  re- 
monstrances, with  the  proviso  we  should  start  whenever  he 
should  require  and  travel  at  such  stages  as  he  could  bear. 

The  winter  of  1823-4  he  spent  in  Middle  Tennessee,  alter- 
nating between  his  brother  James's,  in  Summer  County,  Nash- 
ville, and  his  brother-in-law,  Nathanael  Moore's,  near  Colum- 
bia, preaching  whenever  he  could,  meeting  the  classes  occasion- 
ally, and  corresponding  with  old  friends. 

Early  in  March,  1824,  notice  was  given  us  that  we  must  be 
ready  to  comply  with  our  promise  in  a  few  more  days,  as  he 
would  start  on  his  journey  to  Baltimore.  The  winter  had  been 
a  very  cold  and  wet  one,  the  spring  opened  slowly,  and  the  roads 
were  horribly  muddy.  We  found  him  quite  feeble  and  scarcely 
able  to  sit  up.  But  go  he  must,  and  start  he  would.  For  a  week 
or  two  during  the  past  winter,  the  writer  had  been  engaged,  at 
his  dictation,  in  preparing  an  address  to  the  General  Conference, 
explaining  his  views  as  to  the  constitutionality  and  expediency 
of  the  questions  which  had  agitated  the  General  Conference  and 
vindicating  his  own  course  in  the  premises.  He  also  dictated  a 
valedictory  address  to  the  Conference,  both  of  which  documents 
were  to  be  presented  if,  by  any  means,  he  stiould  be  prevented 
from  attending  it.  r  During  the  process  of  composing  these  ad- 
dresses, his  accustomed  caution  and  fine  taste  in  the  selection 
of  the  simplest  and  most  expressive  words  were  very  strikingly 
exhibited.  These  documents  constituted  our  recreation,  when- 
ever a  leisure  hour  occurred,  throughout  that  whole  tour,  from 
March  10  to  May  1.  They  were  transcribed,  or  rather  written 
almost  anew,  about  three  times,  amended,  revised,  and  cor- 
rected with  the  greatest  possible  care.  Every  word  was  weighed , 
every  sentence  criticized  to  a  degree  which  gave  a  new  appre- 
hension of  the  labor  of  composing. 

Our  company  consisted  of  the  Bishop  in  his  barouche  drawn 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  285 

by  two  small  but  excellent  horses;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglass  on 
horseback,  neither  of  them  weighing  less  than  two  hundred 
pounds;  their  faithful  servant  Aaron,  leading  a  pack  horse;  and 
the  writer  on  horseback.  Sometimes  he  would  ride  my  horse 
a  little,  especially  when  the  road  became  difficult  or  endangered 
an  upset,  but  usually  he  kept  his  seat  in  the  carriage  while  I 
drove. 

We  passed  up  the  Cumberland  River,  spending  a  night  with 
his  old  colaborer  and  friend,  the  father-in-law  of  Brother  Doug- 
lass, the  Rev.  John  McGee;  thence  recrossing  the  river  at  the 
mouth  of  Caney  Fork,  we  struck  out  along  a  very  rugged  road, 
the  old  trail  of  the  emigrants  to  the  western  country,  for  the 
Cumberland  Mountains.  We  found  the  roads  exceedingly  bro- 
ken and  rough.  To  add  to  our  troubles,  torrents  of  rain  poured 
upon  us.  The  unbridged  streams  were  swollen  so  as  to  endanger 
our  safety,  and  houses  were  few  and  comforts  scanty.  Our  stages 
were  short,  sometimes  we  were  compelled  to  halt  and  tie  up  for 
a  day.  Occasionally  the  Bishop  was  so  wearied  and  painful  he 
would  get  out  and  lie  down  to  rest  on  the  side  of  the  road. 

Descending  the  mountain,  we  crossed  the  beautiful  Clinch 
River;  spent  a  delightful  Sabbath  at  Kingston;  preached  to 
large  congregations;  visited  some  of  the  Bishop's  old  friends, 
the  Wintons  and  others;  proceeded  through  Knoxville  to  Straw- 
berry Plains,  resting  a  day  and  night  with  his  valued  former  fel- 
low laborer,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Wilkerson,1  of  precious  memory, 
and  near  Jonesboro  encountered  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
Our  tour  across  this  mountain  was,  if  possible,  more  disagree- 
able than  over  the  Cumberland;  but  at  last  it  was  accomplished, 
and  just  at  nightfall  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain  we  found 
quarters  at  a  miserable  little  hut.  It  was  our  only  chance.  It 

Thomas  Wilkerson  was  received  on  trial  in  1793.  After  traveling  ten 
years  in  the  Virginia  Conference,  he  located  and  removed  to  the  West. 
Here  he  resumed  his  labors  and  was  very  useful  late  in  life.  He  married  an 
excellent  lady,  and  their  house  was  a  delightful  resting  place  for  the  travel- 
worn  and  weary  old  Bishop.  Mr.  Wilkerson  had  traveled  extensively  in  the 
West  as  well  as  in  the  East  and  was  universally  esteemed  for  his  talents 
and  piety.  His  simplicity  of  manners,  his  dignity,  amiability,  and  remark- 
ably good  sense  gave  him  great  influence  among  all  classes  and  particularly 
among  the  most  intelligent.  After  his  readmission  into  the  itinerancy, 
his  name  continued  upon  the  Minutes  down  to  1850.  I  have  often  thought 
that  in  his  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  characteristics  he  strikingly  re- 
sembled Bishop  Roberts.  Bishop  McKendree  had  known  him  many  years 
and  loved  him  highly,  regarding  him  as  singularly  prudent  and  reliable  in 
everything. 


286  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

was  getting  dark,  no  other  house  for  several  miles,  and  the  Bish- 
op was  sick  and  in  great  pain.  Indeed,  he  was  almost  utterly 
exhausted.  We  carried  him  into  the  house  and  laid  him  half 
dead  upon  a  miserable  bed  in  a  dirty  room,  which  served  as  a 
parlor,  bedroom,  dining  room,  and  kitchen.  After  supper,  of 
which  none  of  our  company  partook  but  the  Bishop's  driver  and 
our  colored  companion,  there  is  a  distinct  recollection  that  some- 
body, not  the  colored  man,  fed,  washed  off,  and  plentifully 
greased  the  legs  of  three  jaded  horses.  Then  returning  to  the 
hut,  through  a  drenching  rain,  he  found  that  he  must  share  with 
the  Bishop  a  very  narrow  bed  or  seek  sleep  upon  his  blanket  on 
the  floor. 

Next  morning  was  the  blessed  Sunday!  It  had  rained  all 
night,  and  every  little  mountain  brook  now  brawled  and  foamed 
as  it  dashed  headlong  toward  the  valley.  Now,  what  was  to  be 
done?  To  stay  there,  even  on  Sunday,  was  out  of  the  question, 
unless  it  was  sinful  not  todoso.  The  Bishop  had  neither  eaten  nor 
slept.  He  was  feverish,  nervous,  and  profoundly  silent,  lying 
on  his  wretched  bed  with  closed  eyes.  Brother  Douglass  and  the 
writer  held  a  consultation.  We  learned  that  the  Yadkin  River 
was  nine  miles  ahead :  it  was  a  fearful  mountain  torrent  when 
swelled  by  rain;  if  not  crossed  immediately,  it  would  detain  us 
several  days,  as  there  was  no  ferryboat,  and,  finally,  that  there 
was  no  white  man's  house  this  side  the  river  where  we  could 
stay.  We  agreed  it  was  necessary  to  go  at  once,  and,  after 
everything  was  ready,  the  Bishop  was  aroused  and  politely 
asked  to  take  his  seat  in  the  carriage.  He  remonstrated,  but, 
as  we  could  not  stay,  he  submitted,  and  we  hurried  off. 

On  arriving  at  the  Yadkin,  it  was  found  to  be  unfordable,  and 
rapidly  rising,  with  every  prospect  of  overflowing  its  banks  be- 
fore night.  We  soon  ascertained,  from  a  group  of  negroes  as- 
sembled to  see  the  river,  that  the  ferryboat  had  been  carried  off 
by  the  flood,  that  there  was  no  lodging  place  for  us  on  this  side, 
and  that  we  must  cross  soon  or  retrace  our  steps  to  our  late 
miserable  stopping  place.  "There!"  said  the  Bishop,  "what 
have  you  gained  in  breaking  the  Sabbath?"  We  replied  that  it 
was  a  work  of  mercy  to  get  him  to  a  place  where  he  could  eat  and 
rest,  and,  besides,  we  were  going  to  Wilkesboro  to  have  preach- 
ing at  night.  We  made  a  bed  for  him  with  the  cushions  of  the 
carriage  and  our  blankets  under  the  shade,  and  he  was  soon  fast 
asleep.  But  how  to  cross  the  river  was  the  question.  Ascer- 
taining that  there  was  a  large  canoe,  dug  out  of  the  body  of  a 
huge  tree,  lying  a  mile  or  two  above,  we  presently  got  it  floated 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  287 

down  and  quickly  carried  all  the  baggage  and  equipments  across 
with  Mrs.  Douglass  to  keep  "watch  and  ward"  over  them. 
Then  the  horses  swam  over  by  the  side  of  our  craft,  and  finally 
the  carriage  was  placed  astride  it  and  carried  over.  This  was  a 
difficult  and  hazardous  affair,  but  it  was  quickly  and  safely  done. 
As  the  canoe  left  the  bank  and  started  with  its  bow  up  the 
stream  to  make  the  landing  on  the  other  side,  all  the  carriage 
wheels,  impelled  by  the  force  of  the  rapid  current,  began  to  re- 
volve, and  the  spectators,  who  watched  our  movements  with 
great  interset,  at  once  shouted:  "Steamboat!  steamboat!" 
This  aroused  our  sleeping  friend,  and  he  saw  with  alarm  his 
carriage  whirling  across  the  torrent.  He  looked  around,  and 
horses,  baggage,  and  friends  had  all  gone.  Soon,  however,  he 
was  hailed  from  the  other  shore  and  informed  that  all  was  safe. 
In  a  short  time  he  was  across  and  moving  rapidly.  Wilkesboro 
was  soon  reached  and  delightful  quarters  obtained.  The  Bishop 
had  a  clean  and  comfortable  bed,  enjoyed  a  sweet,  sound  night's 
sleep,  and  next  morning  was  ready  to  resume  his  wearisome 
journey.  He  and  Mr.  Douglass  were  both  now  in  the  bounds  of 
their  former  field  of  labor,  and  many  old  acquaintances  greeted 
them  with  a  hearty  welcome.  The  latter  preached  at  night  to 
a  large  audience.  It  was  one  of  his  best  sermons,  clear,  evan- 
gelical, eloquent,  and  powerfully  impressive.  The  Church  was 
edified,  and  penitents  came  forward  for  prayer. 

The  Bishop  and  his  party  left  Wilkesboro,  N.  C.,  on  March 
29,  and  stayed  that  night  at  the  village  of  Jonesville,  where  he 
found  an  old  friend  (Parks)  likely  to  die.  Of  course  he  visited 
and  prayed  with  him.  The  next  night  was  spent  in  Huntsville, 
and  on  the  thirty-first  we  came  on  to  Salem,  the  seat  of  the  fa- 
mous Moravian  Female  School.  The  town  seemed  orderly  and 
prosperous,  and  the  whole  is  owned  by  a  German  colony.  In 
the  afternoon  we  were  conducted  by  the  superintendent  to  "the 
Sisters'  House,"  where  were  one  hundred  and  fifteen  young  la- 
dies, students  of  the  school;  thence  to  the  church,  and  heard  the 
grand  old  German  organ;  thence  to  the  cemetery,  the  Potter's 
House,  and  garden — all  neatly  and  beautifully  arranged.  There 
were  no  idlers  nor  drunkards  there.  Everything  moved  like 
clockwork. 

On  April  1,  we  rode  from  Salem  to  Mendenhall's,  another  old 
friend  of  both  the  Bishop  and  Mr.  Douglass.  The  next  day  we 
passed  over  the  old  Guilford  Courthouse  battle  ground,  on  which 
a  battle  was  fought  between  Lord  Cornwallis  and  General 
Greene,  March  15,  1781.  It  was  one  of  the  hardest  battles  of 


288  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  Revolution,  and  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  about 
equal  on  both  sides.    Lord  Cornwallis  claimed  a  victory,  of 
which  Mr.  Fox  remarked,  when  it  was  reported  in  the  British 
Parliament:  "Another  such  victory  will  ruin  our  army  in  Amer- 
ica."   Indeed,  this  battle  was  the  turning  point  in  that  struggle, 
as  it  frustrated  the  plan  of  the  British  commander,  diverted  his 
course,  and  induced  him  to  retreat  next  day,  with  our  men  in 
hot  pursuit.    And  then  the  skill  and  courage  of  a  part  of  our 
army  on  that  occasion  awakened  stronger  confidence  on  our 
side  and  resulted  in  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  so 
that  seven  months  afterwards  (on  October  19, 1781),  Lord  Corn- 
wallis surrendered  at  Yorktown  the  whole  army,  and  peace  and 
independence  followed.    As  we  rode  over  this  field,  the  Bishop 
pointed  out  where  the  lines  were  during  the  engagement  and 
some  trees  which  were  said  to  have  lost  their  tops  by  the  artillery. 
From  his  familiarity  with  the  topography  of  the  place  and 
the  incidents  of  the  day,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  he  was 
in  that  battle  with  the  Virginia  troops,  but  here,  as  else- 
where, he  became  reticent  when  it  was  attempted  to  draw  him 
out  upon  this  subject,  for,  although  he  was  not  only  in  the  rebel 
army,  but  was  certainly  an  officer  in  the  battle  of  Yorktown,  yet 
he  always  avoided  conversation  upon  war  topics  with  young 
preachers  and  generally  even  with  his  old  comrades  and  friends. 
We  had  now  arrived  in  a  section  of  the  country  where  Mr. 
Douglass  and  myself  were  born  and  where  we  intended  to  rest 
awhile  among  our  relations;  so,  leaving  my  company  at  Menden- 
hall's  with  a  promise  to  meet  again  and  pursue  our  journey  to- 
gether,  the  writer  departed.     Passing  through   Greensboro 
(where  he  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  again  with  the  families 
of  Judge  Dick  and  Dr.  R.  P.  Williamson),  he  went  into  Person 
County  and  spent  over  a  week  with  his  relations  there.    In  the 
meantime  the  Bishop  arrived,  and  in  a  few  days  we  left  and  re- 
sumed-our  way.    Soon  we  passed  my  father's  former  residence, 
then  my  grandfather's,  places  endeared  by  earliest  and  fondest 
reminiscences,  and  on  the  next  day,  April  10,  crossed  the  Roan- 
oke  River  and  stayed  among  the  Taylors  (Allen,  Howell,  and 
Edmund)  several  days.    These  were  Methodists  of  the  old  and 
genuine  stamp  and  old  friends  of  McKendree  and  Asbury.   The 
Bishop  visited  Boydtown,  subsequently  the  seat  of  Randolph- 
Macon  College,  which  has  lately  been  transferred  to  Ashland,  to 
prove  an  honor  and  a  blessing  to  the  State  and  the  Church. 

On  April  12,  we  went  thirty-five  miles,  to  the  elegant  and  hos- 
pitable residence  of  Brother  Adams.    In  crossing^the  Meherrin 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  289 

River,  we  found  it  very  high  and  rising  rapidly,  the  long  bridge 
without  banisters,  one  side  considerably  lower  than  the  other, 
and  a  torrent  of  water  rushing  over  more  than  half  of  the  bridge. 
The  Bishop  was  startled  and  thought  it  hazardous  to  attempt 
to  drive  over;  but,  giving  him  the  reins,  I  alighted,  coaxed  the 
frightened  horses  upon  the  bridge,  and,  wading,  led  them  safely 
over.  In  a  brief  time  afterwards  the  entire  bridge  was  covered 
with  the  swollen  stream,  and,  I  believe,  washed  away. 

As  we  proceeded  by  easy  stages  through  Virginia,  it  was  very 
impressive  to  hear  the  Bishop  call  the  names  and  give  the  his- 
tory of  almost  every  family  whose  residence  we  passed.  He 
would  frequently  say:  "Robert,  I  must  stop  awhile  here;  I 
knew  the  old  folks  and  must  look  after  the  children."  Some- 
times the  interviews  were  deeply  affecting.  They  would  em- 
brace him  and  once  or  twice  an  old,  gray-headed  sister  would, 
almost  involuntarily,  try  to  kiss  him.  Tears,  smiles,  and  prayers 
followed,  and  after  prayer  we  would  hurry  away. 

In  the  afternoon  of  April  13,  we  drove  to  Robert  C.  Boothe's 
and  tarried  there  until  next  morning.  It  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a 
Virginia  Methodist  family,  and  the  Bishop  was  truly  at  home. 
Thence  we  went  to  Petersburg,  where  he  was  admitted  on  trial 
in  1787.  Brother  Archer's  was  his  pleasant  lodging  place,  as  it 
had  often  been  before.  The  stationed  preacher,  G.  W.  Charlton, 
was  considered  a  very  promising  young  preacher.  On  Sunday, 
at  eleven  o'clock,  the  Bishop  preached  to  a  large  audience  of 
old  acquaintances  and  their  children,  many  of  whom  he  had 
baptized  in  their  infancy.  The  sermon  over,  they  crowded 
around  him,  fervently  welcoming  him  back  again  in  his  old  age 
and  feebleness.  After  Sunday,  he  proceeded  to  Richmond,  and 
remained  there  until  the  nineteenth.  He  preached,  on  Sunday, 
at  Shochoe  Hill,  one  of  his  characteristic  sermons  to  a  very  large, 
attentive,  and  weeping  audience. 

From  Richmond  we  passed  on  to  Alexandria,  staying  a  night 
at  Brother  Ware's,  another  at  Fredericksburg,  and  the  third  at 
Dumfries.  Passing  in  sight  of  Mount  Vernon,  the  conversation 
naturally  turned  to  General  Washington,  whom  he  greatly  ad- 
mired and  loved.  We  stopped  to  lunch  at  the  old,  forsaken 
parish  church,  and,  driving  out  a  flock  of  goats,  entered  it.  The 
usual  inscriptions  (the  Ten  Commandments,  Creed,  and  Lord's 
Prayer)  were  over  the  pulpit,  and  upon  a  pew  was  the  name  of 
"George  Washington,"  in  gilt  letters,  and  next  to  it  "Robert 
Treat  Paine."  It  seemed  a  pity  that  such  a  house  should  be 
given  to  the  goats.  The  residence  of  Brother  Hoffman  furnished 
19 


290  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  Bishop  a  kind  and  comfortable  home  in  Alexandria  for  a  day 
or  two.  Here  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of  that  eloquent  and 
good  minister,  William  Ryland,  and  was  deeply  impressed  with 
his  piety  and  talents. 

•  Several  days  were  spent  at  Brother  Foxhall's,  in  Georgetown, 
and  at  the  house  of  Judge  McLean,  the  Postmaster  General. 
Mr.  Monroe  was  then  in  the  last  term  of  his  presidency,  and  J. 
C.  Calhoun  was  Secretary  of  War,  while  Thomas  L.  McKinney 
was  in  the  Indian  Department.  Several  official  letters  now  be- 
fore the  writer,  addressed  to  the  Bishop,  attest  the  deep  interest 
felt  by  these  officers  of  the  general  government  in  the  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianization  of  the  Indians,  one  of  them,  dated 
April  26,  informing  the  Bishop  that  "an  additional  allowance 
of  $300  had  been  agreed  on  in  favor  of  the  school  of  Upper  San- 
dusky."  Another  letter  from  Mr.  Calhoun,  addressed  to  Gen- 
eral Crowell,  agent  for  the  Creek  Indians,  says:  "The  President 
takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of  every  effort  the  object  of 
which  is  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  and  desires 
that  every  aid  should  be  furnished  by  the  Indian  agents  in  ad- 
vancing so  important  an  object,"  etc.  While  these  communi- 
cations evince  the  estimate  placed  by  the  President  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  upon  the  Indian  Missions,  they  also  show  their  high 
regard  for  the  venerable  Bishop,  to  whom,  in  a  great  degree, 
they  attributed  the  establishment  and  success  of  these  missions 
and  through  whose  influence  these  allowances  were  made. 

We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  mutual  friend,  Dr.  Bascom, 
here.  Through  Mr.  Clay  he  had  been,  unexpectedly  to  himself, 
elected  a  chaplain  to  Congress,  and,  as  it  was  in  session,  he  was 
here  in  his  official  character.  Unfortunately,  his  first  sermon, 
although  eloquent  and  able,  was  too  long  to  suit  the  taste  of  his 
.audience,  who  preferred  short  sermons  and  long  dinners;  so  that, 
while  the  most  intellectual  and  piously  disposed  part  were  de- 
lighted with  his  preaching,  a  good  many  were  disinclined  to 
hear  him  again.  On  visiting  him,  he  was  found  in  bed,  suffering 
from  a  very  painful  affection.  He  was,  however,  devoting  every 
-hour  which  he  could  employ  to  the  study  of  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, under  the  tuition  of  an  able  Hebraist. 

On  April  28  we  reached  Baltimore,  and  were  domiciled  in  the 
family  of  William  Wilkins,  Esq.  It  was  a  delightful  family.  In 
view  of  the  Bishop's  need  of  medical  attention,  his  physician 
and  devoted  friend,  Dr.  Samuel  Baker,  claimed  and  took  him 
to  his  house.  Here  I  surrendered  my  precious  charge,  after 
nearly  two  months'  constant  intercourse,  on  a  tour  of  more  than 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  291 

a  thousand  miles  of  slow  and  toilsome  travel.  But  they  were 
months  of  inestimable  value  to  me.  From  many  days'  conver- 
sation with  that  wise  and  holy  man,  I  learned  and  enjoyed  much. 
The  origin,  nature,  and  proper  administration  of  Methodism; 
the  character  and  labors  of  its  early  ministers;  the  importance 
of  adhering  closely  to  all  its  essential  peculiarities;  the  duties 
of  its  officers,  and  especially  of  its  pastors,  and  the  indispensa- 
bleness  of  zeal,  holiness,  and  promptness  were  topics  upon 
which  he  delighted  to  dwell.  And  now,  after  the  lapse  of  forty- 
five  years,  I  must  avow  that  my  sentiments  upon  these  subjects 
are  still  McKendreean,  and,  I  presume,  will  remain  so  through 
the  remainder  of  my  life.  Most  devoutly  do  I  thank  God  for 
having  in  his  providence  given  me  the  inestimable  privilege  of 
so  intimate  an  association  with  a  man  so  wise  and  pure. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

General  Conference  of  1824 — Messrs.  Reece  and  Hannah — Committees — 
Petitions — Report  on  episcopacy — Winans  on  the  report  and  the  con- 
stitution— "The  constitutional  test" — Bishops'  veto — Amendment  to 
the  constitution  proposed  by  the  bishops  and  others — J.  Soule's  views — 
Question  carried — The  suspended  resolutions  question — Left  as  unfin- 
ished business — Qourum  broken — Bishop  Roberts  and  Freeborn  Gar- 
rettson — Soule  and  Hedding  elected  bishops — Ordained — Sketches — 
Bishop  McKendree's  address — He  is  gratified. 

ON  Saturday,  May  1,  1824,  the  delegated  General  Confer- 
ence began  its  fourth  quadrennial  session  in  Baltimore,  Bishops 
McKendree,  Roberts,  and  George  being  present.  The  number 
of  delegates  from  each  Conference  was  as  follows:  From  New 
York,  16;  New  England,  14;  Genesee,  16;  Philadelphia,  13; 
Baltimore  14;  Ohio,  13;  Kentucky,  11;  Missouri,  5;  Tennessee, 
9;  Mississippi,  3;  South  Carolina,  11;  Virginia,  9;  in  all,  134. 
After  the  usual  opening  exercises,  Bishop  McKendree  in  the 
chair,  Thomas  L.  Douglass  was  made  Secretary  pro  tern.;  and 
committees  on  "public  worship"  and  to  draw  up  "rules"  were 
appointed,  and  the  Conference  adjourned  until  Monday.  At 
the  next  session  the  body  organized  by  electing  John  Emory 
Secretary.  The  Rev.  Richard  Reece,  as  messenger,  and  the  Rev. 
John  Hannah,  his  companion,  from  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  of 
England,  were  then  introduced  to  the  General  Conference  and 
delivered  impressive  addresses.  Committees  on  episcopacy, 
boundaries,  itinerancy,  local  preachers,  the  Book  Concern, 
missions,  churches  and  parsonages,  people  of  color,  revisal, 
and  education  were  appointed.  A  special  committee  was  ap- 
pointed on  Canada  affairs.  Two  more  days  were  consumed 
in  arranging  business  and  adopting  rules.  To  the  writer,  the 
youngest  member  of  the  body,  it  was  an  imposing  spectacle. 
Bishop  McKendree  observed  the  action  of  the  body  with  great 
solicitude.  In  a  few  days  petitions  and  addresses  began  to  pour 
in,  declaring  that  "the  people  were  the  source  of  legislative 
authority;"  "the  power  of  the  bishops  to  be  found  nowhere 
else  but  in  popes;"  "we  have  no  constitution;"  "the  restrictive 
parts  of  the  Discipline  not  binding  on  succeeding  General 
Conferences  after  1808,  nor  upon  the  laity,  as  they  were  made 
by  a  legislative  body,  without  the  design  or  authority  to  adopt 
a  constitution;"  "let  the  Church  try  and  expel  her  own  mem- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  293 

bers;"  "laity  to  have  an  equal  representation,"  etc.  Several 
remonstrances  were  made  against  presiding  elders  as  needless, 
and  doing  "a  work  of  supererogation,"  etc.  And  among 
others,  on  the  same  topic,  one  asking  that  "no  slaveholder 
shall  be  a  member  of  the  Church. "  Such  were  the  memorials 
from  cities,  towns,  and  country;  from  quarterly  meetings, 
Sunday  schools,  and  other  official  bodies,  as  well  as  unofficial 
petitioners  by  scores  and  hundreds  of  subscribers.  Ten  or  more 
of  them  were  from  the  West  or  South.  It  was  astounding  to 
hear  such  attacks  upon  the  very  fundamental  principles  of  our 
economy.  Could  they  find  advocates  in  a  Methodist  General 
Conference? 

Of  course  the  reports  of  the  various  committees  to  whom 
these  papers  were  referred  brought  up  all  these  topics  for  dis- 
cussion. That  upon  episcopacy  was  about  the  first  which  was 
reported: 

1.  Approving  the  conduct  and  character  of  the  bishops. 

2.  Bishop  McKendree  to  continue  in  his  present  relation 
— i.e.,  without  regular  work. 

3.  That  it  is  necessary  to  strengthen  the  episcopacy  by  the 
election  of  two  bishops. 

4.  The  bishops,  if  necessary,  to  lay  off  episcopal  departments. 

Attempts  were  made  to  modify  each  of  these  items  of  the  re- 
port except  the  second,  but  the  principal  opposition  was  made 
to  the  last  two,  some  contending  we  had  as  many  bishops  as  was 
needed.  The  motion  to  recommend  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  54  to 
60.  The  fourth  item  was  discussed  at  considerable  length.  It 
was  contended  that  the  General  Conference  had  authority  to 
lay  off  the  work  in  departments  temporarily;  some  wanted  the 
bishops'  work  laid  off  for  four  years.  William  Winans  said  that 
on  this  question  there  are  three  different  opinions;  that  his  own 
was  that  the  bishops  have  the  prerogative  to  divide  their  work  for 
their  own  convenience  and  the  good  of  the  Church;  and,  as  one 
of  the  restrictions  upon  this  delegated  body  is  that  "they  shall 
not  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant  general  superintendency;" 
and,  inasmuch  as  the  exercise  of  the  authority  by  the  delegated 
body  in  limiting  and  thus  localizing  the  bishops  violates  the  plan 
of  our  itinerant  general  superintendency,  it  is,  and  must  be,  a 
violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  Church.  He  said  it  was  ab- 
surd to  deny  that  we  have  a  Church  constitution.  By  what 
authority  do  members  occupy  their  seats  here  as  delegates  or  the 
bishop  his  chair  but  by  the  constitution?  These  restrictive  ar- 
ticles, adopted  by  a  convention  of  the  whole  body  of  ministers 


294  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

in  1808,  are  as  truly  a  constitution  to  the  Church  (and  to  this 
body)  and  for  the  expressed  purpose  of  restricting  this  delegated 
body  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  to  this  nation. 
In  short,  if  these  articles  do  not  constitute  a  part  of  the  organic 
law  of  the  Church,  in  all  its  departments,  we  have  no  constitu- 
tion, and  this  body  is  lawless.  This  speech  was  thrilling.  The 
report  was  adopted,  leaving  it  discretionary  with  the  bishops  to 
divide  their  work  temporarily. 

Friday,  May  20,  another  question  of  importance  came  up, 
called  "the  constitutional  test,"  the  object  of  which  was  to  pre- 
vent hasty  action,  violative  of  the  constitution,  by  giving  the 
bishops  a  qualified  veto,  with  an  ultimate  reference  of  the  ques- 
tion to  the  Annual  Conferences.  It  involved  constitutional 
questions  only.  The  bishops,  anticipating  some  action  of  the 
kind,  had  agreed  to  unite,  and,  if  desired,  present  to  the  Con- 
ference the  following  amendment  to  the  sixth  Article  of  the 
"Limitations  and  Restrictions,  "adopted  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence in  1808,  signed  by  their  own  hands,  and  by  two  others,  to  wit : 

Resolved  by  the  delegates  of  the  Annual  Conferences  in  General  Conference 
assembled,  That  it  be  recommended,  and  is  hereby  recommended  to  the 
several  Annual  Conferences,  to  adopt  the  following  Article  as  a  provision, 
to  be  annexed  to  the  sixth  Article  of  the  Limitations  and  Restrictions, 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference  in  1808,  to  wit:  "Provided  also,  That 
whenever  the  delegated  General  Conference  shall  pass  any  rule  or  rules 
which,  in  the  judgment  of  the  bishops,  or  a  majority  of  them,  are  contrary 
to,  or  an  infringment  upon,  the  above  Limitations  and  Restrictions,  or 
any  one  of  them,  such  rule  or  rules  being  returned  to  the  Conference  with- 
in three  days  after  their  passage,  together  with  the  objections  of  the  bish- 
ops in  writing,  the  Conference  shall  reconsider  such  rule  or  rules;  and  if 
upon  reconsideration  they  shall  pass  by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members  present,  they  shall  be  considered  as  rules  and  go  into  immediate 
effect;  but  in  case  a  less  majority  shall  differ  from  the  opinion  of  the  bish- 
ops, and  they  continue  to  sustain  their  objections,  the  rule  or  rules  ob- 
jected to  shall  be  laid  before  the  Annual  Conferences,  in  which  case  the 
decision  of  all  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences  present  when  the 
vote  shall  be  taken,  shall  be  final.  In  taking  the  vote  in  all  such  cases, 
in  the  Annual  Conferences,  the  secretary  shall  give  a  certificate  of  the 
number  of  votes  taken  in  the  affirmative  and  negative,  and  such  certifi- 
cates shall  be  forwarded  to  the  Book  Agent  in  New  York,  who,  with  one 
or  more  of  the  bishops  who  may  be  present,  shall  be  a  committe  to  canvas 
the  votes  and  certify  the  result." 

We  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  above  resolution. 

W.  MCKENDREE,     THOMAS  L.  DOUGLASS, 
ENOCH  GEORGE,      WILLIAM  CAPERS. 
R.  R.  ROBERTS, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Whether  the  subject  was  brought  into  Conference  by  thepres-  ? 
entation  of  this  document  or  by  another  series  of  resolutions- 
the  writer  cannot  say,  but  the  discussion  of  the  subject  was 
upon  substantially  a  similar  if  not  an  identical  presentation  Of 
the  question. 

A  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost  by  61  to  65. 

J.  Soule  said:  "The  General  Conference  is  not  the  proper 
judge  of  the  constitutionality  of  its  own  acts.  The  course  of  the 
last  General  Conference  in  the  case  of  the  suspended  resolutions 
shows  it  thought  thus.  If  the  General  Conference  be  the  sole 
judge  in  such  questions,  then  there  are  no  bounds  to  its  power. 
The  General  Conferences  held  and  exercised  unlimited  power 
until  1812,  because  they  met  en  masse  and  not  by  virtue  of  their 
election  or  delegation.  This  was  felt  to  be  a  dangerous 
state  of  things  and  unfair  to  the  more  distant  portions  of 
the  work.  And  one  great  controlling  motive  in  introducing 
the  representative  principle  was  to  lessen  the  danger  of  sudden 
and  violent  changes  in  the  fundamental  polity  of  the  Church  by 
establishing  a  delegated  legislative  body  under  restrictions, 
thus  insuring  stability  to  the  organic  institutions  and  equality 
in  representation.  It  matters  not  by  what  name  these  restric- 
tive rules  may  be  called,  the  design  and  effect  were  to  take  the 
questions  enumerated  from  under  the  control  of  the  delegated 
Conference,  except  in  the  way  and  manner  specified."  He 
called  it  a  constitution. 

L.  McCombs  and  James  Smith  opposed  the  resolution  at  con- 
siderable length,  and  W.  Winans  replied  in  one  of  the  strongest, 
most  analytical,  and  effective  speeches  ever  delivered  on  the 
floor  of  the  General  Conference.  The  question  was  carried  by 
a  vote  of  64  to  58. 

A  heavy  load  was  lifted  from  the  heart  of  the  senior  bishop. 
His  face  put  on  a  subdued  smile,  and  he  breathed  freer.  But 
the  subject  which  had  in  some  form  or  other  agitated  the  body 
since.  1808,  and  which  had,  in  1820,  culminated  in  the  adoption 
of  certain  resolutions,  which  were  subsequently  reconsidered 
and  suspended,  and  hence  were  known  as  the  "Suspended  Res- 
olutions/'  was  yet  to  come  up.  No  questions  had  so  long  and 
so  deeply  disturbed  the  entire  Church  as  those  involved  in  these 
resolutions.  Their  purpose  was  to  diminish  the  power  of  the  ' 
bishops,  by  the  election  of  the  presiding  elders,  and  investing 
them  with  the  stationing  prerogative.  In  1820,  it  was  carried.; 
as  a  compromise,  or  peace  measure,  many  voting  for  it  as  such 
who  really  disapproved  it.  But  no  sooner  was  this  done  than 


296  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  real  and  baneful  tendency  of  the  measure  began  to  be  per- 
ceived, as  already  stated  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and  so  general 
was  this  conviction  that  it  was  suspended  until  1824.  The  great 
and  avowed  cause  of  opposition  to  it  was  that  it  was  an  infringe- 
ment on  the  constitutional  authority  of  the  episcopacy,  who 
nevertheless  agreed  to  submit  it  to  the  several  Annual  Confer- 
ences, and,  if  they  should  sanction  it,  to  consider  it  passed.  It 
appeared  that  Bishop  McKendree  had  done  this  at  the  Confer- 
ences he  had  attended,  and  probably  the  other  bishops  had  done 
so  too;  but  some  Conferences  had  voted  against  it  and  some  for 
it,  while  several  had  failed  or  refused  to  vote  on  it  at  all.  It  was 
evidently  against  the  wish  of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the 
Annual  Conferences.  A  motion  was  made  on  May  24,  declaring 
the  suspended  resolutions  null  and  void.  Almost  the  entire  day 
was  spent  in  discussing  the  matter,  and  upon  taking  the  vote, 
it  stood  63  for  and  61  against  the  motion.  But  as  there  was  a 
complaint  that  several  Conferences  had  not  voted,  whose  votes,  if 
in  the  affirmative,  might  carry  the  question,  there  was  a  dispo- 
sition among  the  majority  to  hold  the  decision  in  abeyance  un- 
til these  Conferences  might  have  another  chance  to  vote,  and  if 
there  then  should  be  a  majority  in  favor  of  these  resolutions, 
they  should  be  considered  as  adopted.  To  this  it  was  replied, 
The  principle  is  now  lost,  and  the  resolutions  themselves  are  not 
of  so  much  importance. 

On  May  28,  Lewis  Myers  moved  "to  take  up  the  motion  on 
the  subject  of  the  suspended  resolutions."  Dr.  Capers  said  there 
was  a  division  of  sentiment  on  these  resolutions.  "A  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  as  well  as  of  the  Con- 
ferences themselves,  have  said  they  are  unconstitutional.  There 
is  a  division  of  sentiment  among  the  episcopacy,  and  if  things 
are  left  as  they  are,  will  not  the  bishops  be  delicately  situated? 
May  it  not  produce  confusion  in  the  administration?  For  surely 
they  will  not  give  practical  effect  to  the  measure,  after  what 
had  transpired." 

Dr.  Winans  wished  the  resolutions  to  be  considered  "unfin- 
ished business." 

It  was  finally  moved  by  the  writer,  and  seconded  by  Dr. 
Capers,  that  "the  suspended  resolutions,  making  the  presiding 
elders  elective,  etc.,  be  considered  as  unfinished  business,  and 
they  shall  not  be  inserted  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Disci- 
pline or  go  into  operation  before  the  next  General  Conference." 

In  putting  the  question  to  vote  (Bishop  Roberts  in  the  chair) 
the  quorum  was  broken  twice;  but,  under  the  remonstrances  of 


Life  and^Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  297 

the  venerable  Freeborn  Garrettson  and  the  chairman,  at  last 
it  was  carried,  and  the  Conference  soon  after  adjourned  sine  die. 

After  the  decision  that  the  resolutions  so  often  referred  to 
were  null  and  void,  the  reason  for  the  refusal  of  Joshua  Soule  to 
submit  to  consecration  being  thus  removed,  it  was  greatly  de- 
sired by  his  friends  to  have  him  reflected  to  the  episcopacy;  and 
as  two  were  to  be  inducted  into  office,  Joshua  Soule  and  Elijah 
Hedding  were  elected  bishops.  And  on  May  27,  after  a  ser- 
mon by  Bishop  George,  they  were  solemnly  ordained  as  super- 
intendents of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  These  two  men  were  in  many  respects 
eminently  qualified  for  the  high  positions  assigned  them  and 
proved  themselves  worthy  and  useful  shepherds  of  the  Church.1 

When  it  was  evident  that  the  Conference  was  approaching 
its  close,  the  senior  Bishop  determined  to  carry  out  his  meditated 
purpose  of  giving  to  its  members  a  brief  address.  Mr.  John 
Summerfield,  the  renowned  and  justly  popular  Anglo-Irish 
preacher  (between  whom  and  the  Bishop  there  existed  the  strong- 
est feelings  of  attachment),  was  requested  to  join  the  writer 
and  take  down  the  address  in  shorthand.  We  accordingly  pre- 
pared ourselves  and  recorded  every  word  he  uttered  as  it  fell 

Joshua  Soule  was  a  native  of  Maine,  born  in  Bristol,  Hancock  County, 
1781.  He  entered  the  itinerancy  in  1798,  having  been  converted  the  year 
previous.  He  died  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  March  6, 1867.  His  long  ministe- 
rial career  was  crowded  with  labor  and  eventful  scenes.  He  enjoyed  the 
esteem  of  Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree,  and  deserved  it.  When  shall 
we  have  his  biography?  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  very  valuable  and 
usually  fair  and  liberal  "History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  by 
Dr.  Stevens,  writen  since  the  Bishop's  death,  the  author,  in  sketching  his 
character,  could  find  so  little,  comparatively,  to  say  about  him,  and  of 
that  little  so  much  that  is  depreciating. 

Elijah  Hedding  was  born  in  the  country  of  Dutchess,  N.  Y,,  June  7, 1780; 
was  converted  December  27, 1798;  admitted  on  trial  in  1801;  elected  bish- 
op in  1824;  and  died  April  9,  1852.  He  had  been  a  faithful  and  efficient 
laborer  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  section  of  the  work  and  was  highly 
respected  for  his  purity  of  character,  his  amiability,  and  his  talents.  He 
was  a  large  and  venerable  looking  man,  and  lived  and  died  with  a  spotless 
reputation.  During  the  General  Conference  of  1824,  the  writer  heard  him 
preach  in  Light  Street  Church,  Baltimore,  on  "  God  is  love."  He  illustrated 
the  great  truth  in  the  text  as  exhibited  in  creation,  providence,  and  grace. 
It  was  clearly  and  fitly  spoken,  but  seemed  not  to  make  a  very  strong  im- 
pression. In  his  episcopal  duties  he  was  popular  and  much  revered  for  his 
wisdom,  piety,  and  fidelity.  His  labors  were  not  extended  to  the  South- 
west. Dr.  D.  W.  Clark  has  given  us  an  excellent  biography  of  him. 


298  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

from  his  lips,  and,  after  comparing  our  notes  and  making  out 
a  copy  of  his  address,  handed  it  to  him.  It  was  a  striking  and 
touching  scenic  presentation.  There  he  stood  before  the  as- 
sembled representatives  of  the  Church,  with  every  one  of  whom 
he  was  acquainted,  and  with  some  of  whom  he  had  been  a  fel- 
low soldier  on  many  a  moral  battle  field  for  about  forty  years, 
whose  thin  hairs  were  white  as  his  and  whose  bodies,  like  his, 
were  wasted  and  worn  with  unceasing  toil  and  care.  The  mo- 
ment he  arose,  noise  and  motion  ceased  in  the  crowded  house. 
He  paused  awhile,  and,  then  in  a  low  and  hesitating  voice,  began. 
After  saying  that  he  would  avail  himself  of  the  present  oppor- 
tunity to  state  his  views  upon  a  subject  on  which  some  brethren 
had  misunderstood  him,  the  following  were  his  words: 

At  the  last  General  Conference,  unexpected  circumstances  led  to  a  de- 
velopment of  our  situation  in  certain  matters  which  was  of  a  serious  and 
painful  nature  after  which  difficulties  were  to  rise  out  of  this  which  af- 
fected the  peace  and  harmony  of  the  Church.  Soon  after,  I  understood 
that  brethren  supposed  me  to  have  said  that  I  considered  it  my  right  and 
prerogative  to  negative  the  laws  of  the  General  Conference.  This  surprised 
me,  for  I  had  disavowed  this  principle  above  thirty  years  ago  and  had 
never  changed  my  sentiments,  but  have  disavowed  it  at  all  seasonable 
opportunities,  and  do  still.  This  I  suppose  quite  sufficient  to  satisfy  those 
who  know  me;  and  yet  I  perceived  the  other  day,  from  the  statement  of  a 
brother  in  this  Conference,  that  this  sentiment  still  lives  and  was  again 
attributed  to  me.  If  I  had  at  any  time,  in  the  multiplicity  of  cares  and  of 
business,  suffered  anything  to  escape  me  which  by  possibility  could  be  con- 
strued to  have  this  meaning,  I  should  still  have  thought  that  my  disavowal, 
so  frequently  made  public  among  you,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  guard 
against  such  a  construction.  I  therefore  add  that  in  my  estimation  no  con- 
struction of  this  kind  can  be  legitimately  drawn  from  anything  I  may  have 
said.  After  Conference,  I  took  a  course  in  this  business  which  has  been  ob- 
jected to  by  many.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  act  was  not  with- 
in the  limits  of  our  restricted  powers;  but  I  was  induced  to  do  it  from  a  pre- 
cedent which  had  been  once  set  by  that  venerable  man,  Bishop  Asbury ,  who 
may  perhaps  be  considered  as  the  father  of  the  American  connection.  Soon 
after  I  was  ordained  a  bishop,  an  objection  was  made  against  an  act  of  the 
administration,  and  the  objection  was  on  constitutional  principles.  As- 
bury deplored  that  our  Discipline  made  no  provision  for  adjusting  such  a 
controversy,  and  determined  to  lay  it  before  the  Annual  Conferences.  The 
first  that  met  was  the  Baltimore  Conference.  After  it  had  been  submitted 
to  them  he  carried  it  forward  to  the  Philadelphia,  New  York,  New  Eng- 
land, and  Genesee  Conferences,  in  each  of  which  it  was  acted  on,  and  the 
difficulties  were  adjusted.  This  was  the  plan  on  which  I  acted;  unappre- 
hensive of  any  evil  tendency,  I  laid  this  matter  before  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences. Look  now  at  its  tendency.  I  viewed  it  on  constitutional  principles, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  299 

and  my  reasonings  are  still  in  existence.  I  thought  from  the  first,  and  I  do 
still  think,  that  the  Annual  Conferences  have  the  power  of  determining  the 
question ;  and  if  they  had  said,  "We  think  them  constitutional" — i.  e.,  the 
uspended  resolutions — I  was  bound  to  submit.  However,  as  they  did  not, 
I  simply  advised  them  to  recommend  it  to  the  General  Conference.  In  all 
this  I  saw  no  evil  tendency  whatever. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  present  General  Conference,  your  bishops 
consulted  together  to  devise  some  way  to  harmonize  the  brethren  and  the 
connection  at  large.  It  is  true  they  have  had  their  difficulties,  and  I  would 
ask  if  any  three  men  could  unite  their  views  on  every  subject  for  eight,  or 
even  four  years?  Yet,  after  all,  when  they  came  togather,  they  were  anx- 
ious to  agree  upon  some  plan  which  would  harmonize  the  body.  They 
thought  they  saw  a  plan  open,  and  they  entered  in.  The  plan  was  to  in- 
vite the  brethren  on  both  sides  to  vote  a  peace  measure  which  should  meet 
the  wishes  of  all.  In  order  to  guard  against  a  recurrence  of  like  disagree- 
ments, they  agreed  to  recommend  to  the  General  Conference  a  constitu- 
tional test  which  should  forever  settle  these  things.  I  was  pleased  with  an 
adjustment  which  is  calculated  to  heal  the  past  by  the  peace  measure  pro- 
posed and  to  guard  against  a  recurrence  by  the  constitutional  test. 

Having  concluded  this  topic,  he  spoke  of  the  importance  of 
the  present  time  in  the  history  of  our  Church,  the  extension  of 
the  work,  and  the  increase  in  the  number  of  the  Conferences; 
thence  deduced  and  maintained  the  necessity  of  an  efficient 
superintendency  and  the  importance  of  leading  on  the  thousands 
of  our  Israel  to  inward  and  outward  holiness  and  of  training  up 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  rising  generation.  He  enlarged 
on  the  necessity  of  united  councils  and  exertions  to  carry  on 
this  great  work,  and  expressed  his  anxiety  to  see  his  brethren  go 
hence  to  their  work  in  perfect  harmony.  He  rejoiced  to  know 
the  differences  of  opinion  would  produce  no  division  in  the  Con- 
ference. He  said  the  office  of  a  bishop  among  us  is  not  an  en- 
viable station;  that  in  truth  it  is  an  accumulation  of  toil,  labor, 
and  privation  superadded  to  the  "care  of  all  the  Churches;"  and 
that  anyone  who  would  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop  "as  a  good 
thing"  for  any  other  motive  than  to  increase  the  general  hap- 
piness of  man  and  the  glory  of  God  thereby  had  not  counted  the 
cost.  He  briefly  adverted  to  his  age  and  infirmities  and  the  prob- 
ability that  he  would  not  live  to  meet  them  four  years  hence. 
He  then  proceeded  to  advert  to  the  labor  and  anxiety  they  had 
endured  through  the  long  session  about  to  close  and  congratu- 
lated them  upon  the  measures  adopted  and  the  degree  of  har- 
mony and  brotherly  respect  which  had  generally  prevailed. 
He  exhorted  them  to  love  the  Church  and  each  other,  to  avoid 
strife,  to  cultivate  deep  personal  piety  and  an  unwavering  de- 


300  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

votion  to  the  high  ends  of  their  holy  vocation.  Finally,  after 
expressing  a  joyful  hope  of  renewing  in  heaven  the  friendship 
and  sanctified  affection  begun  on  earth,  he  invoked  the  blessing 
of  God  upon  them  all,  and  in  tremulous  tones,  his  cheeks  mois- 
tened with  tears,  bade  them,  as  he  supposed,  a  long  farewell. 
The  whole  audience  continued  awhile  in  profound  silence,  in- 
terrupted only  by  partially  suppressed  emotions.  He  concluded 
his  address  with  the  apostolic  benediction,  and  retired. 

Various  other  measures  were  adopted  by  this  Conference, 
which,  upon  the  whole,  was  one  of  the  most  important  sessions 
of  the  body  ever  held  in  the  United  States.  Bishop  McKendree 
was  especially  gratified.  His  well-known  opinions  upon  several 
vital  issues  had  been  sustained,  his  course  fully  vindicated,  an 
untrammeled  episcopacy  and  primitive  itinerancy  perpetuated, 
and  two  able  and  trustworthy  colleagues  had  been  added  to  the 
aged  but  excellent  college  of  bishops.  The  Church,  especially 
in  the  South  and  West,  was  delighted  at  what  was  regarded, 
and  has  proved  to  be,  virtually  a  peaceable  disposal  of  harassing 
and  dangerous  attempts  at  innovations,  and  the  preachers  felt 
renewed  confidence  in  the  recuperative  energy  and  perpetuity 
of  their  beloved  Alma  Mater. 

Thus  closed  the  memorable  General  Conference  of  1824.1 

1There  are  several  discrepancies  between  the  notes  made  by  the  writer 
at  the  time  and  Dr.  Bang's  valuable  "History" — viz.:  He  says,  on  page  277 
of  Vol.  Ill,  the  election  of  the  two  bishops  occurred  on  the  twenty-sixth,  and 
their  consecration  on  the  twenty-seventh.  My  notes,  made  at  the  time, 
say  the  election  was  on  the  twenty-eighth,  and  the  consecration  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  May.  Again,  he  says  Bishop  McKendree  preached  the 
ordination  sermon;  my  record  says  Bishop  George  preached  it.  On  the 
first  balloting,  William  Beauchamp  was  next  to  Soule,  Hedding  next,  and 
Emory  last.  Emory  withdrew  has  name  on  the  third  balloting,  and  Hed- 
ding was  elected  by  a  small  majority. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  bishops  divide  the  work  for  four  years — Bishop  McKendree  starts  on 
a  tour  of  three  thousand  miles — His  letter  to  Dr.  Sargent — His  route 
from  Baltimore  to  the  Wyandotte  Mission — Bishop  Soule  and  family — 
Jacob  Crist — Finley  meets  him  at  Columbus,  Ohio — Visits  and  preaches 
to  the  Indians — Weary — Bear  skin  bed  on  the  ground — Gets  to  Ken- 
tucky Conference  at  Versailles — Attends  the  Missouri  Conference — Re- 
turns to  Tennessee  very  feeble — His  letter  to  Bishops  Roberts  and  Soule, 
resigning  the  active  duties  of  the  superintendency — Resumes  his  travels 
in  the  spring  of  1825 — B.  T.  Crouch's  letter — Mr.  Summerfield. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  close  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1824,  the  bishops  agreed  to  a  division  of  the  work  among  them- 
selves for  the  ensuing  four  years,  conformably  to  the  views  ex- 
pressed by  that  body.  For  the  first  two  years  Bishops  Roberts 
and  Soule  were  to  attend  the  Western  and  Southern  Conferences 
and  Bishops  George  and  Hedding  the  Eastern  and  Northern, 
and  to  exchange  their  fields  of  labor  for  the  ensuing  two  years, 
thus  enabling  each  of  them  to  attend  every  Conference  before 
the  next  General  Conference. 

After  spending  a  few  days  in  Baltimore,  and  at  the  residence 
of  his  long-tried  and  devoted  friend,  Dr.  Henry  Wilkins,  then 
living  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city,  and  finding  his  health  and 
strength  a  little  improved,  he  resumed  his  travels,  intending,  if 
possible,  to  visit  the  Indian  missions  and  the  Northwestern  and 
Southern  Conferences,  a  distance  of  more  then  three  thousand 
miles. 

From  Sharpsburg,  Pa.,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Thomas  Sargent,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Philadelphia  Missionary  Society,  in  reply  to  a  note 
just  received  from  him,  and,  after  several  suggestions  as  to  the 
application  of  missionary  funds  to  the  various  Indian  missions, 
and  especially  in  aid  of  New  Orleans,  he  proceeds  to  say: 

Our  Church  politics  is  strangely  embarrassing.  The  course  I  took  rela- 
tive to  the  suspended  resolutions  was  not  to  defeat  them,  but  to  bring, 
them  into  operation  conformably  to  the  constitution,  and  thereby  confirm 
the  "  peace  measure  "  and  harmonize  the  preachers.  To  this  the  preachers 
who  prefer  the  old  system  are  willing  to  submit  for  the  sake  of  peace.  On 
the  commencement  of  the  late  General  Conference,  the  bishops  took  the 
subject  into  consideration  and  unanimously  agreed  to  recommend  the  in- 
troduction of  the  suspended  resolutions  so  soon  as  they  should  be  recom- 
mended by  those  Annual  Conferences  which  had  not  already  authorized 
the  change.  This  the  old  side,  the  majority,  I  understand,  are  willing  to  do. 


302  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

But  this  our  reformers  refused  to  do.  The  majority,  still  desirous  of  an 
amicable  adjustment  of  differences,  would  not  destroy  the  resolutions,  but 
perpetuated  their  suspension.  This  is  my  view  of  the  matter.  Hence  this 
change  in  our  government,  which  was  dictated  by  the  reformers,  is  de- 
feated by  the  reformers.  It  is  said  by  authority  to  be  relied  on  that  noth- 
ing short  of  investing  the  Annual  Conferences  with  authority  to  constitute 
the  presiding  elders,  independently  of  the  bishops,  and  to  make  the  pre- 
siding elders  thus  appointed  a  committee  to  station  the  preachers,  in  which 
the  bishop  shall  have  only  the  casting  vote,  will  satisfy  the  Northern  breth- 
.  ren.  This  change  would,  in  my  estimation,  effectually  "destroy  our  itiner- 
ant general  superintendency";  and  I  am  deliberately  of  the  opinion  that 
an  effective  general  superintendency  is  as  necessary  to  the  preservation  of 
our  itinerancy  and  the  harmony  of  the  Annual  Conferences  as  is  the  Gen- 
eral Conferencef-ftself.  Both  one  and  the  other  rise  out  of  the  division  of 
our  work  into  so  many  Annual  Conferences,  which  are  equal  in  power  and 
independent  of  each  other.  Could  all  our  preachers  meet  in  one  Annual 
Conference,  the  itinerant  plan  might  be  preserved  in  America  without 
either  a  general  superintendency  or  a  general  Conference,  as  it  is  in  Eng- 
land. I  expect  to  be  at  the  Ohio  Conference,  at  Zanesville,  in  September, 
when  I  hope  to  receive  a  letter  from  you." 

The  following  extract  from  his  Diary  will  show  the  route  he 
took  from  the  General  Conference: 

"At  the  Baltimore  Conference,  Jacob  B.  Crist  was  appointed 
to  travel  with  me.  I  went  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  and 
at  its  close  returned  to  Baltimore.  From  there  we  went,  in 
company  with  Bishop  Soule  and  his  family,  as  they  were  moving 
to  the  State  of  Ohio.  On  Sabbath  we  both  preachedat  Hagers- 
town.  Thence  we  went  to  Sharpsburg  and  Uniontown,  Pa. 
Bishop  Soule  and  family  go  on,  and  we  stopped.  Preached  at 
Brownsville,  Washington,  Wheeling,  Barnesville,  and  Zanes- 
ville, and  spent  the  Sabbath  at  New  Lancaster.  On  Monday 
we  reached  Columbus,  where  Brother  Finley  was  waiting  for  me, 
and  the  next  day  we  set  out  for  the  Wyandotte  Mission.  The 
weather  was  very  hot,  and  one  of  my  horses  having  been  lamed 
at  Lancaster,  I  had  undertaken  to  go  on  horseback.  I  suffered 
considerably  and  was  greatly  fatigued,  but  arrived  safely  at  the 
mission  about  August  7.  Preached  to  the  Indians  on  Sunday, 
spent  several  days  visiting  the  Indian  families,  and  rode  sixty 
miles  in  two  days,  to  Urbana.  I  had  to  lie  down  and  rest,  in  a 
house  if  we  could  find  one,  if  not,  a  bear  skin  on  the  ground  made 
a  very  good  bed.  When  musquitoes  were  plenty,  we  would 
strike  fire,  raise  a  smoke,  and  rest  comfortably.  From  Urbana 
we  attended  the  Ohio  Conference  at  Zanesville.  Thence  we 
visited  Springfield,  Xenia,  Ridgewell,  Hillsboro,  Chillicothe, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  303 

Lebanon,  Dayton,  Cincinnati,  and  Lexington,  Ky.,  on  our  way 
to  the  Kentucky  Conference  at  Versailles,  October  11,  1824. 
Besides  preaching  in  the  towns  and  societies  in  the  country,  we 
attended  quarterly  meetings  and  camp  meetings,  rendering 
such  services  as  we  were  able." 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  he  attended,  with  Bishops 
Soule  and  Roberts,  the  Missouri  Conference,  which  succeeded 
the  Kentucky.  His  route  was  through  Louisville,  crossing  the 
Ohio,  through  Indiana  to  Vincennes,  through  Illinois  to  Pads- 
fields,  attending  the  Missouri  Conference  in  November,  return- 
ing through  Southern  Illinois  into  Kentucky,  visiting  Hop- 
kinsville  and  Russellville,  and  passing  into  Tennessee.  During 
all  this  long  journey  he  was  so  feeble  as  to  need  assistance  to  get 
in  or  out  of  the  carriage.  The  roads  were  very  bad,  the  streams 
high,  frequently  the  horses  were  near  swimming,  and  once,  in 
crossing  a  deep  and  dangerous  stream  on  a  cold  day,  the  water 
came  over  the  backs  of  the  horses  and  wet  the  Bishop  above  his 
knees.  His  clothes  were  soon  frozen,  and  in  this  condition  he 
had  to  ride  four  miles  to  reach  a  house. 

The  bishops  were  greatly  delighted  at  the  change  which  had 
resulted  from  the  labors  of  the  missionaries  among  the  Wyan- 
dottes,  both  in  the  temporal  and  spiritual  condition  of  this  peo- 
ple. Their  religion  had  consisted  of  paganism  and  some  of  the 
ceremonies  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  They  were  really 
pagans,  although  baptized  by  the  priests  and  claimed  by  them 
as  Christians.  They  kept  up  their  heathen  worship — their 
feasts,  songs,  and  dances;  and  so  strong  was  their  belief  in  witch- 
craft, that  numbers  had  been  put  to  death  as  witches  under  this 
belief.  Drunkenness,  poverty,  nakedness,  and  misery  abounded. 
The  chase  was  their  chief,  if  not  their  only  resource,  for  a  living. 
But  now  a  large  majority  had  renounced  their  old  faith  and 
practices.  Many  had  joined  our  Church  and  were  strictly  at- 
tentive to  the  means  of  grace.  The  tomahawk  and  the  scalping 
knife,  the  rifle  and  the  bow,  had  been  substituted  by  the  ax,  the 
plow,  and  the  hoe.  The  habits  of  Christian,  social,  and  domes- 
tic life  prevailed.  At  the  manual  labor  mission  school  a  fine 
farm  was  in  full  operation,  supplying  abundantly  the  wants  of 
the  mission  family  and  school  with  corn,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  flax, 
and  a  great  variety  and  profusion  of  vegetables.  The  Indians 
were  imitating  this  model  establishment.  On  the  Sabbath  both 
of  the  bishops  preached  to  a  large  assembly  through  the  inter- 
preter. By  appointment,  they  met  a  number  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Nation — the  chiefs  and  the  moderator  of  the  national  coun- 


304  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

cil.  Bishop  McKendree,  after  addressing  them,  invited  them 
to  inform  him  of  their  views  in  relation  to  the  mission  and  the 
general  interests  of  the  Nation.  Menoncue,  Punch,  Gray  Eyes, 
Peacock,  Between-the-Logs,  Driver,  Washington,  and  Big  Tree 
replied.  They  gratefully  adverted  to  the  change  in  the  creed, 
manners,  morals,  and  condition  which  had  resulted  from  the 
mission,  and  earnestly  asked  that  it  might  be  continued.  "  Bish- 
op McKendree/'  says  Bishop  Soule,  "continued  visiting  from 
house  to  house,  attended  by  an  interpreter,"  explaining  experi- 
mental religion  and  enforcing  its  practical  precepts.  On  Au- 
gust 14  they  left,  impressed  and  delighted  with  the  visit.  Bish- 
op Soule,  who  had  never  before  been  among  the  Indians,  was 
especially  surprised  and  pleased;  and  both  of  them,  through 
the  remainder  of  their  lives,  often  adverted  to  the  scene, 
which  seemed  to  linger  in  their  memories  like  the  echo  of  an 
enchanting  song  heard  "long  time  ago."  It  awakened  a  deeper 
sympathy  for  "the  poor  Indian." 

On  their  route  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Tennessee  Confer- 
ence, to  be  held  at  Columbia,  they  arrived  on  November  21  at 
the  Rev.  Nathanael  Moore's,  the  brother-in-law  of  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree, and  found  his  sister,  Mrs.  Frances  Moore,  in  a  very 
feeble  state  of  health  from  consumption.  Having  attended  the 
Tennessee  Conference  and  returned  to  the  house  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  he  yielded  to  the  advice  of  friends  and  the  entreaties  of 
his  sisters  and  relations  not  to  venture  farther  during  the  winter. 
Indeed,  his  health  was  very  infirm,  and  the  succeeding  Confer- 
ences were  likely  to  be  so  well  supplied  with  episcopal  super- 
vision that  it  was  alike  unreasonable  and  unnecessary  for  him  to 
try  to  go.  Bishop  Soule  went  on  his  way  to  the  Mississippi  Con- 
ference, and  Bishop  McKendree  now  fully  devoted  himself  to 
instruct  and  soothe  his  dying  sister. 

Having  already  alluded  to  this  subject,  suffice  it  to  say  that 
after  a  protracted  and  terrible  scene  of  physical  suffering  and 
occasionally  of  mental  depression,  she  became  exceedingly 
happy  some  weeks  before  her  departure  and  died  while  her  be- 
loved brother  was  by  her  bedside  soothing  and  encouraging  her 
to  trust  all  to  Jesus.  Her  last  struggle  was  triumphant;  her  last 
word  was  "Glory!"  This  occurred  January  3,  1825.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  winter  of  1824-5  the  Bishop  continued  in  Ten- 
nessee, visiting  among  his  old  acquaintances  and  preaching  as 
he  had  ability.  Besides  his  brother-in-law's,  the  Rev.  N. 
Moore's,  and  his  brother's,  Dr.  James  McKendree's,  his  prin- 


lAje  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  305 

cipal  resting  places  were  Joseph  T.  Elliston's  and  H.  R.  W. 
Hill's,  Nashville,  and  T.  L.  Douglass's,  near  Franklin,  Tenn. 

The  excessive  fatigue  and  exposure  he  had  undergone  in  his 
late  tour,  and  his  consequent  debility  and  suffering,  deeply  im- 
pressed him  with  the  conviction  of  his  inability  to  perform  ef- 
fectively the  active  labors  of  an  itinerant  general  superintend- 
ent; and  while  laboring  under  the  depression  produced  by  this 
conviction,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  Bishops  Rob- 
erts and  Soule,  in  which  he  proposed  to  retire  from  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  the  superintendency,  with  suggestions  as 
to  certain  important  items  which  he  commends  to  their  special 
attention;  and  although  several  preceding  General  Conferences 
had  authorized  him  to  do  so,  and  notwithstanding  this  formal 
announcement  of  his  purpose,  yet  so  soon  as  his  health  and 
strength  were  a  little  recruited  by  rest  and  kind  nursing,  he  was 
again  on  the  wing  around  the  continent  striving  to  build  up  the 
Church  and  save  souls  from  death. 

NASHVILLE,  December  12, 1824. 

Much  Respected  Brethren:  Two  considerations  incline  me  to  retire  more 
effectually  from  the  important  duties  and  high  responsibilities  of  the  epis- 
copal charge: 

1.  My  infirmities  are  such  that  I  can  neither  bear  the  fatigue  of  travel- 
ing from  Conference  to  Conference  nor  perform  the  duties  when  present. 

2.  The  episcopal  duties  can  be  discharged  as  well  without  me;  yet  I  am 
as  much  as  ever  disposed,  whether  present  or  absent,  to  render  all  the  asr 
sistance  in  my  power. 

Having  made  these  remarks,  suffer  me  to  suggest  a  few  things  for  your 
consideration,  which  have  occurred  to  me  as  points  deserving  serious  at- 
tention: 

The  importance  and  utility  of  our  missionary  operations  are  sufficiently 
demonstrated  by  the  success  with  which  they  have  been  attended.  To 
carry  the  design  into  complete  effect,  much  depends,  as  I  conceive,  upon 
the  bishops.  By  them  the  attention  of  the  last  General  Conference  was 
invited  to  the  establishment  of  a  mission  at  Liberia,  with  an  eye  of  thus 
opening  the  way  for  the  gospel  among  the  native  Africans. 

You  doubtless  recollect  that  the  General  Conference  approved  the  de- 
sign and  authorized  the  bishop  to  send  out  a  missionary  or  missionaries 
immediately,  but  as  yet  nothing  has  been  done. 

Can  it  be  that  a  suitable  man  cannot  be  found  among  all  our  ministers? 
or  is  the  failure  attributable  to  us?  Dear  brethren,  let  us  strive  to  effect 
this  grand  object.  The  Lord  will  surely  smile  upon  the  undertaking. 

That  some  of  our  missionaries  are  not  sufficiently  attentive  to  the  in- 
struction of  the  Indians  is  evident  to  some  of  us.  Should  we  not  inquire 
not  only  whether  they  are  faithful  in  preaching  and  meeting  the  classes, 
but  also  whether  they  visit  them  with  a  view  to  instruct  and  incite  them 
20 


306  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

to  agriculture  and  housewifery?  a  very  important  part  of  their  duty.  It 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  caution  our  missionaries  against  entering  into  any 
questions  involving  civil  politics. 

Can  you  not  devise  some  means  by  which  our  people  and  friends  can  be 
more  effectually  roused  to  the  importance  of  sustaining  and  enlarging  our 
field  of  missionary  operations?  Would  it  not  be  well  to  converse  freely 
with  the  presiding  elders  on  the  subject  and  strive  to  excite  them  to  use 
their  best  efforts  within  their  respective  limits  to  raise  societies  and  collect 
funds?  or  would  it  answer  better  to  appoint  suitable  persons  to  travel  and 
raise  funds  exclusively  for  this  object? 

One  thought  more  and  I  will  conclude.  What  has  been  intimated  rel- 
ative to  the  laxity  of  the  preachers  in  missionary  operations  may  apply  in 
some  degree  to  the  "  duties  of  a  preacher,"  "  the  building  of  churches,"  "  the 
doctrine  of  holiness,"  and  conformity  to  the  world. 

Remember,  dear  brethren,  that  it  is  our  duty  as  general  superintendents 
"to  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Church,"  and  we  are 
holden  jointly  responsible  for  the  administration.  Let  us,  therefore,  dis- 
charge our  duties  faithfully;  then  shall  we  not  be  ashanied  at  our  approach- 
ing examination,  but  be  able  to  render  up  an  account  to  the  General  Con- 
ference with  joy  and  not  with  grief. 

Yours  affectionately,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

During  the  summer  of  1825  he  attended  several  quarterly 
and  camp  meetings  and  preached  to  the  edification  of  thousands. 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  he  passed  into  Kentucky.  The 
following  letter  to  the  writer  from  the  Rev.  B.  T.  Crouch,  Sr., 
shows  his  habits  on  such  occasions.  Alas!  the  worthy  author, 
and  recently  his  excellent  widow,  and  his  noble  son  and  name- 
sake, as  well  as  the  Bishop,  have  since  all  gone  to  the  grave. 

In  the  autum  of  1824,  my  health  being  very  poor,  my  brethren  persuad- 
ed me  to  take  a  superannuated  relation;  but  not  being  disposed  to  rest,  my 
labors  were  not  abated,  and  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district,  having  to  be 
absent  several  weeks  on  business,  employed  me  to  attend  a  whole  round  of 
his  quarterly  meetings  in  his  stead.  I  think  in  June,  1825,  at  one  of  those 
meetings,  Bishop  McKendree  came  up,  greatly  to  our  surprise  and  joy. 
He  was  on  a  pastorial  tour  eastward  and  northward,  and  hearing  of  the 
quarterly  meeting,  he  came  to  it,  intending  to  avail  himself  of  the  presid- 
ing elder's  company  for  several  weeks.  The  absence  of  the  proper  incum- 
bent of  the  district,  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  of  precious  memory,  did  not 
change  the  Bishop's  purpose.  He  took  me  for  his  traveling  companion 
and  favored  us  with  his  services  at  four  successive  quarterly  meetings. 
Truly,  this  was  to  be  remembered!  During  that  time  I  enjoyed  the  con- 
stant companionship  of  a  grave  and  dignified  man,  whose  godly  example, 
spiritual  wisdom,  sanctified  conscience,  and  rare  piety  filled  up  my  idea  of  a 
bishop  of  apostolical  times  and  New  Testament  type.  I  traveled  with  him 
over  bills  and  valleys,  labored  with  him  in  the  pulpit,  at  the  altar,  occupied 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  307 

the  same  room,  and  often  shared  with  him  the  same  bed;  retired  with  him, 
when  other  convenient  places  failed,  to  the  same  grove  for  prayer,  and  wit- 
nessed by  day  and  night  his  sore  afflictions  of  body  and  deep  travail  of  spir- 
it for  Zion's  peace;  and  surely  of  patience,  meekness,  calm  submission,  for- 
bearance, and,  in  a  word,  every  grace,  every  virtue,  exhibited  on  a  most 
exalted  scale  and  amidst  extraordinary  afflictions  and  sufferings,  gave  evi- 
dence of  a  pious  mind  and  a  mature  Christian;  his  claim  to  that  character 
was  fully  vindicated  and  his  living  credentials  entitled  him  to  the  first 
honors. 

It  is  now  twenty-nine  years  since  the  events  transpired  which  furnished 
the  matter  of  this  record,  and  the  gems  of  knowledge  then  received  and  the 
lessons  of  piety,  and  propriety  which  his  example  and  conversation  taught 
have  never  been  forgotten.  On  the  division  of  the  powers  of  government 
and  administration  law,  as  comprised  in  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  Method- 
ism, Bishop  McKendree  held  some  views  which  did  not  accord  with  the 
politics  of  some  of  our  expounders  of  Church  law.  He  did  not  indorse  the 
doctrine  that  a  superior  officer  had  a  right  to  claim  the  place,  or  even  to 
take  it,  except  for  special  reasons,  and  to  perform  the  appropriate  and  law- 
prescribed  duties  of  an  inferior  during  the  term  for  which  the  inferior  officer 
is  held  responsible  for  those  duties  and  while  he  is  recognized  as  the  legal 
incumbent  of  the  work  and  place  assigned  him.  He  did  not  hold  that  the 
presence  of  a  bishop  superseded  the  official  relations  and  nullified  the  au- 
thority, for  the  time  being,  of  all  inferior  officers,  from  the  presiding  elder 
down;  so  that  a  bishop,  because  he  is  present,  is  ex  officio,  dejure  presiding 
elder,  and  everything  else,  even  to  the  Omega  of  the  official  list.  He  be- 
lieved that  such  a  policy  might  become  the  source  of  great  confusion,  that 
it  would  defeat  the  ends  of  government  by  overleaping  the  checks  and  bal- 
ances of  power  which  distinguish  the  several  departments  and  proportions 
of  Methodist  polity. 

The  Bishop  was  drawn  out  fully  on  this  point  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
by  an  occurrence  which  brought  the  subject  directly  to  view.  The  presid- 
ing elder  was  absent;  his  proxy  was  attending  a  series  of  quarterly  meetings 
for  him;  but  while  it  was  competent  for  the  proxy  to  take  the  place  of  his 
principal  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  altar,  at  the  sacramental  table,  and  yet,  in 
the  absence  of  the  presiding  elder,  placed  the  preacher  in  charge  of  the  cir- 
cuit in  the  chair  of  the  Quarterly  Conference,  and  therefore  the  proxy 
could  not  preside  over  that  body. 

But  there  was  a  bishop  present,  and  the  preacher  in  charge,  as  well  as 
the  proxy,  urged  that  he,  being  a  superior  officer,  should  preside  in  the 
Quarterly  Conference.  To  this,  however,  the  Bishop  objected;  and,  in 
stating  his  reasons,  taught  substantially  this  important  lesson:  a  bishop 
has  the  right,  under  law,  to  displace  or  remove  a  presiding  elder,  and  either 
to  preside  in  the  vacated  place  himself  or  to  appoint  another  to  do  so;  and 
a  presiding  elder  has  a  right,  in  common  with  a  bishop,  to  remove  a  preach- 
er from  his  charge  in  the  intervals  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  either 
in  person  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  vacant  charge  or  to  appoint  another 
to  the  charge;  but  no  bishop  has  a  right,  in  the  face  of  law,  to  usurp  the  po- 


308  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

sition  which,  for  a  definite  time,  has  been  assigned  to  an  underofficer  until 
that  definite  time  shall  have  expired  or  the  underofficer,  for  sufficient  cause 
shall  have  been  displaced.  He  allowed,  indeed,  that  a  superior  officer 
might  accept,  as  a  courtesy,  the  place  of  an  underofficer;  but  that  even 
this  should  not  be  done  where  the  harmony  and  safety  of  judicial  proceed- 
ings might  thereby  be  jeopardized;  as,  for  instance,  where  such  an  act  might 
subject  an  officer  to  the  necessity  of  presiding  twice  over  the  adjudication 
of  the  same  case:  first,  in  the  court  of  original  proceedings;  and,  secondly, 
in  the  appellate  court.1 

Being  the  subject  of  an  inveterate  dyspeptic  habit,  he  was  very  partic- 
ular in  his  diet.  Plain  corn  bread  or  cold  wheat  loaf,  with  very  little,  if  any, 
butter;  seldom  any  flesh,  choosing  a  small  relish  of  broiled  bacon;  some- 
times a  cup  01  tea,  but  more  frequently  a  glass  of  milk  or  cold  water,  com- 
pleted the  good  man's  richest  variety  of  table  luxuries. 

He  possessed  the  happy  talent,  when  in  a  talking  mood,  of  making  his 
conversation  interesting  and  instructing.  And  while  his  usual  themes 
were  the  doctrines  and  institutions  of  the  Bible,  ecclesiastical  history  and 
polity,  and  the  preacher's  duties  as  teacher  and  pastor,  occasionally  he 
would  narrate  interesting  incidents  or  discuss  natural  phenomena.  He 
had  traveled  much  in  frontier  settlements;  had  seen  much  and  heard  more 
of  Indian  character,  and  felt  the  liveliest  concern  for  their  welfare.  Their 
sagacity  struck  him  forcibly.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  an  anecdote  he  re- 
lated, as  illustrative  of  their  shrewdness.  I  do  not  know  but  it  has  gone  to 
print  before  this,  nor  whether  he  claimed  originaly  for  it,  but  it  impressed 
and  amused  me.  It  ran  thus: 

A  party  of  Indians,  on  a  hunting  expedition,  had  pitched  their  tents  near 
a  white  settlement,  in  the  backwoods,  when  one  of  them  found  his  tent  had 
been  robbed  of  some  meat:  he  started  in  pursuit,  and  presently  meeting  a 
white  man  on  horseback,  inquired  if  he  had  seen  an  old  low  white  man, 
with  a  short  gun  and  a  stump-tail  dog.  "  Yes,"  said  the  horseman,  "  I  met 
just  such  a  man."  "He  stole  my  meat,"  said  the  Indian.  "How  do  you 
know  it  was  a  white  man  stole  it?  Might  not  an  Indian  have  stolen  it?  " 
"No;  when  Indian  walk,  he  toes  turn  in;  when  white  man  walk,  he  toes 
turnout.  Man  stole  my  meat  he  toes  turn  out,  he  white  man."  "How  do 
you  know  he  was  an  old  man  that  stole  your  meat?  May  it  not  have  been 
a  young  man? "  "No;  he  old  man.  Young  man  active,  step  long;  old  man 
stiff,  he  step  short.  Man  got  my  meat  step  short,  he  old  man."  "  But  why 
do  you  think  he  was  a  low  man?  "  "  Why?  Meat  not  high,  he  got  block  to 
reach  my  meat;  high  man  no  want  block  to  get  my  meat,  he  low  man." 
"And  how  do  you  know  he  had  a  short  gun?"  "  'Cause,  while  he  get  my 
meat,  set  he  gun  on  ground  and  lean  it  against  tent-pole  log,  and  make 
mark.  I  measure  it;  it  short  gun."  "  Well,  how  on  earth  do  you  know  he 
had  a  short-tail  dog?  "  "  Well,  while  man  get  meat,  dog  set  down  out  there, 
look  at  man  and  shake  he  tail  in  snow;  make  short  mark,  he  short-tailed 
dog." 

'Is  it  not  possible  that  the  Bishop's  position  on  this  point  was  misunderstood,  in  part? 
Certainly  it  does  not  accord  with  his  carefully  written  address  to  his  colleagues  in  1833,  which 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  309 

After  relating  this  amusing  incident,  the  Bishop  remarked  that  this  and 
many  similar  things  give  us  some  idea  how  the  children  of  the  forest  make 
an  effort  to  compensate  the  lack  of  the  knowledge  of  letters. 

Mention  has  been  made  in  connection  with  the  Bishop's  ad- 
dress to  the  General  Conference  of  1824  of  the  name  of  John 
Summer-field,  and  from  the  correspondence  between  them  it 
readily  appears  that,  while  the  Bishop  felt  a  tender  and  fatherly 
affection  for  this  highly  gifted  and  eloquent  young  minister  of 
Christ,  it  was  reciprocated  by  a  deeply  reverential  and  filial 
affection.  A  number  of  letters  before  us  attest  these  facts. 
Few,  if  any,  of  his  years  have  so  arrested  public  attention  and 
been  so  much  admired  and  loved  as  Mr.  Summerfield.  He  was 
born  in  England,  January  31,  1798;  was  carefully  trained  by 
devoted  parents,  and  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  good  literary 
education.  His  father  having  moved  to  Ireland  in  1813,  he  was 
there  converted  to  God  in  his  seventeenth  year,  and  immediate- 
ly began  to  hold  meetings  and  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
In  1819,  he  was  admitted  on  trial  in  the  Irish  Conference.  Such 
were  his  zeal  and  pulpit  eloquence  that,  notwithstanding  his 
youth,  he  was  chosen  to  act  as  missionary  through  the  country. 
His  constant  labors  and  devotion  to  his  work  in  less  than  three 
years  impaired  his  health  and,  after  a  short  absence  in  England, 
where  he  was  greatly  admired,  he  emigrated  with  his  father  and 
family  and  landed  in  New  York  in  March,  1821.  He  was  at 
once  admitted  on  trial  in  the  New  York  Conference  and  began 
a  brief  and  brilliant  career  of  ministerial  usefulness  in  this  coun- 
try. His  first  public  address  was  at  the  anniversary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  and  excited  the  admiration  of  a  large  and  in- 
telligent audience.  His  unpretending  modesty  and  simplicity 
of  manner,  the  catholicity  of  his  spirit,  his  chaste  style,  and  the 
subdued  fervor  of  his  devotion,  combined  with  the  unbroken 
flow  of  an  elocution  resembling  a  beautiful,  transparent  river 
gliding  equably  onward  to  its  destination,  riveted  the  attention 
and  moved  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  His  youthful  appearance 
and  the  traces  of  suffering  in  his  pallid  face  added  to  the  effect 
of  his  sermons  by  exciting  the  apprehension  of  an  early  death. 
The  sympathetic  emotions  which  usually  arise  between  the 
hearers  and  the  speaker  were  toward  him  of  a  peculiar  character. 
Always  willing  and  ready  to  preach  or  to  labor  in  any  way  and 
anywhere  for  his  divine  Master's  glory,  and  ever  doing  it  so 
humbly,  so  modestly,  and  yet  so  well,  prejudice,  rivalry,  and 
pride  were  abashed  under  his  ministry;  and  he  seemed  the  ideal 


310  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop*  McKendree 

of  purity,  the  impersonation  of  the  genius  of  our  loving  and 
holy  Christianity. 

Mr.  Summer-field's  labors  in  the  United  States  were  abun- 
dant, too  abundant  for  the  frail  and  delicate  tabernacle  of  such 
a  soul.  He  was  in  demand  everywhere — now  in  New  York,  then 
in  Philadelphia,  and  then  in  Baltimore,  Washington  City,  and 
in  the  towns  and  regions  adjacent.  Ministers,  old  and  young, 
of  all  denominations,  pushed  through  dense  crowds  and  sat  with 
respect  and  rapture  under  his  sermons  and  invited  him  to  their 
pulpits;  some  pastors  of  other  denominations  doing,  as  did 
Bishop  Soule  in  Baltimore,  who,  when  he  and  Mr.  Summer-field 
had  appointments  to  preach  at  different  churches  at  the  same 
hour,  dismissed  his  congregaion,  and  said,  "  Come,  let  us  go  and 
hear  our  beloved  John,"  and  hastened  to  sit  and  weep  under  his 
ministry.  The  writer  feels  it  a  privilege  to  have  been  drawn, 
through  the  influence  of  our  mutual  and  venerated  friend,  Bish- 
op McKendree,  into  close  association  with  this  godly  and  guile- 
less man  and  to  have  heard  him  repeatedly  for  a  month  in  the 
pulpit  and  in  addresses  at  missionary  anniversaries  and  to  chil- 
dren in  Sunday  schools.  Never  can  he  forget  hearing  him  for 
the  first  time  in  Baltimore,  May  9,  1824.  He  confesses,  too,  to 
have  had  a  feeling  somewhat  akin  to  prejudice,  of  which  he  soon 
became  ashamed.  Everybody  was  extolling  Mr.  Summer-field 
in  terms  of  the  highest  eulogy.  He  could  but  suspect  that  such 
popularity  must  excite  the  vanity  and  work  to  the  injury  of  the 
young  man,  and  that  it  was  unreasonable  to  suppose  there 
could  be  solid  ground  for  such  laudation  of  anyone  whose  mind 
must  be  so  immature.  And  yet  his  excellent  and  intelligent 
hostess,  Mrs.  W.,  praised  him;  Bishop  Soule  admired  and  loved 
him  as  a  son,  and,  I  feared,  was  a  little  proud  of  his  pet;  and 
even  Bishop  McKendree  spoke  of  him  in  his  quiet  way  in  a  man- 
ner which  showed  his  high  esteem  and  profound  affection.  So 
I  resolved  to  hear  and  see  for  myself.  To  do  this,  I  got  a  ticket 
for  the  love  feast  to  be  held  in  the  Caroline  Street  Church,  Balti- 
more, before  preaching,  and  found  the  building  nearly  full, 
quite  so,  except  the  galleries.  The  whole  General  Conference 
seemed  there — visitors,  citizens,  strangers — all  who  could  get 
tickets  had  come,  and  a  vast  crowd  thronged  about  the  church. 
The  love  feast  closed,  that  crowd  literally  rushed  in,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  every  foot  below  and  in  the  double  galleries  was  close- 
ly occupied,  while  the  aisles,  the  doors,  the  sidewalk  in  front,  and 
on  each  side  of  the  house  and  the  street  back  to  the  opposite 
side  were  covered  with  a  compact  mass,  eager  to  see  the  preach- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  311 

er  or  catch  a  word  from  his  lips.  I  could  but  deeply  feel  the  re- 
sponsibility of  his  position  at  the  minute  he  appeared,  but  there 
was  no  chance  to  enter  at  the  front,  so  his  friends  took  him  to  the 
rear,  and,  lifting  him  upon  their  shoulders,  he  crept  through 
the  window  near  the  pulpit.  He  entered  it  without  looking 
around  at  the  immense  audience  and  fell  upon  his  knees.  Pre- 
sently he  gave  out  his  hymn  in  a  low  but  inexpressibly  clear  and 
sweet  voice.  It  was  a  grand  and  familiar  old  hymn,  but  the 
reading  developed  both  sentiment  and  beauty  I  had  never  be- 
fore observed  in  it.  A  short,  solemn,  sweet  prayer  followed,  and 
then  the  sermon.  The  hymn  was  "  Away,  my  unbelieving  fear," 
and  the  text  was  Philippians  iv.  6,  7.  The  skeleton  of  the  ser- 
mon may  be  found  by  turning  to  the  second  of  his  published 
discourses;  but,  alas !  it  is  merely  the  skeleton.  The  living,  pale, 
but  beautiful  little  man  is  not  there.  His  clear,  sweet  voice, 
not  loud  and  startling,  but  low,  distinct,  and  musical  as  the  mel- 
ancholy notes  of  an  aeolian  harp  are  not  heard;  the  expressive, 
dove-like  eye;  the  symmetrical,  diminutive  form,  weighing  not 
over  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds;  the  pallid  face,  at  first  wear- 
ing a  cast  of  sadness,  then  beaming  with  intellect,  and  presently 
half  radiant "  with  thoughts  that  breathe; "  and  the  few  gestures 
in  which  the  whole  man  speaks  out  and  give  emphasis  to  the 
"words  that  burn"  — all  are  wanting.  The  sermon  was  simple 
and  practical;  and  while  it  was  evident  that  he  suppressed  his 
imagination,  yet  a  few  flashes  of  chaste  and  thrilling  imagery 
seemed  spontaneously  and  irresistibly  to  burst  forth.  The  ef- 
fect was  that  the  vast  concourse  retired  instructed,  impressed, 
and  edified.  The  following  year  he  fell,  by  consumption,  into  a 
state  of  great  debility,  which  neither  a  sea  voyage  nor  the  genial 
climate  of  Southern  France  nor  the  best  medical  skill  could 
arrest.  On  June  13,  1825,  he  died  in  peace  and  went  to  rest. 

Nearly  fifty  years  have  transpired  since  this  "bright  particu- 
lar star"  rose  in  splendor  and  beauty  in  our  ecclesiastical  sky, 
and,  after  attracting  the  eyes  and  winning  the  hearts  of  thou- 
sands, sunk  beneath  the  horizon  in  cloudless  effulgence.  Truly 
does  the  poet  Montgomery  describe  him  as  "the  delight  of  won- 
dering, weeping,  and  admiring  audiences  wherever  he  went." 

Such  was  the  holy  man  whose  many  letters,  written  neatly  and 
correctly  to  his  "dear  Bishop,"  now  lie  before  me,  and  such  the 
gifted  and  sainted  genius  who  called  forth  the  fatherly  affection 
of  his  venerable  friend .  Who  can  doubt  they  have  long  since  met 
and  embraced  each  other  again  in  their  "Father's  house"? 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Richard  Reece  and  John  Hannah  messengers  from  England — Mr.  Recce's 
letter — Bishop  McKendree's  reply — He  goes  through  Kentucky — 
Rests  five  days  in  ninety-five — Attends  Kentucky  Conference  with 
Bishop  Roberts — J.  B.  Finley  and  Dr.  M.  Ruter — Thence  to  Jonesboro, 
East  Tennessee — Attends  the  Holston  Conference — Lynchburg — 
Hezekiah  G.  Leigh — Portsmouth — Attends  the  Baltimore,  Philadel- 
phia, New  York,  and  Genesee  Conferences — Thence  to  South  Carolina 
— Virginia  in  the  spring  of  1827 — Baltimore — Philadelphia — Thence 
west  to  the  Wyandotte  Mission,  through  Ohio — Kentucky  Confer- 
ence— Winters  in  Tennessee — In  1828,  he  and  Gwin  go  to  the  General 
Conference  at  Pittsburgh — Retrospect — A  true,  apostolic  "episcopos" 
— Jesse  Walker — Bishop  McKendree's  characteristics — Old  Gray — 
Another  round — Philip  Bruce — Jefferson  and  Adams  die — South  Caro- 
lina Conference  in  Augusta,  January  11,  1827 — Roberts  and  Soule 
there  also — Back  to  Baltimore — Sick — Gets  to  the  Wyandottes,  then  to 
Nashville — His  skeptical  doctor  convinced — Freeborn  Garrettson's 
death — Indian  letter — Henry  Smith's  Letter — Letter  from  Lewis  Gar- 
rett. 

THE  REV.  RICHARD  REECE,  the  messenger  of  the  Wesleyan 
Methodists  of  England  to  the  General  Conference  of  1824,  was 
an  aged,  dignified,  and  worthy  representative  of  the  body  which 
deputed  him,  and  manifested  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  American  Methodism.  His  companion,  the  Rev. 
John  Hannah,  was  a  much  younger  man,  but  was  a  profound 
and  able  minister.  The  former  long  since  closed  his  consistent 
and  useful  life,  the  latter  more  recently,  after  having  filled 
repeatedly  the  presidential  chair  of  the  Conference  and  of  one  of 
the  famous  Wesleyan  Theological  Schools.  They  closely  ob- 
served the  operations  of  our  system  of  Church  government, 
and  after  they  returned  to  England,  Bishop  McKendree  re- 
ceived the  following  interesting  letter  from  Mr.  Reece,  dated 
September  27, 1825: 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  I  reflect  with  sincere  pleasure  on  the  few  months 
which  I  spent  on  the  American  continent  and  the  free  and  affectionate 
intercourse  which  I  had  with  the  members  of  your  Church,  or,  in  English 
phrase,  "of  your  society."  The  kind  attentions  which  I  everywhere  re- 
ceived from  the  preachers  and  the  people  have  laid  me  under  additional 
obligation  to  do  and  to  say  all  that  I  can  to  promote  the  individual  happi- 
ness of  my  friends  and  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  Wesleyan  Methodism, 
which  is  the  cause  of  Christ;  with  this  cause  all  our  happiness  and  useful- 
ness are  identified.  Can  I  do  this  more  effectually  than  by  stating  what  has 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  313 

appeared  to  me  to  be  a  difference  between  our  system  of  discipline,  or  ac- 
tion,, and  yours,  and  then  leaving  you  to  determine  whether  the  peculiarity 
of  your  circumstances  renders  a  conformity  to  our  plan  impracticable  and 
your  own  better  adapted  to  spread  and  establish  scriptural  Christianity 
through  your  vast  country? 

1.  With  us  it  is  an  indispensable  duty  of  the  pastoral  office  to  see  the 
individual  members  of  our  society  every  quarterly  visitation  at  least,  to 
know  how  their  souls  prosper,  and  then  to  renew  the  quarterly  ticket,  with 
suitable  advice,  admonition,  and  reproof,  and  also  to  receive  the  quarter- 
age which  every  one  gives.    This  brings  the  pastor  and  his  flock  into  close 
and  immediate  contact  and  intercourse;  and  while  the  one  acquires  a 
knowledge  of  the  spiritual  state  and  improvement  of  the  souls  committed 
to  his  care,  the  others  have  an  opportunity  of  freely  stating  their  cases 
and  opening  their  hearts  to  him  who  is  appointed  to  watch  over  them  as 
one  that  must  give  an  account  to  God.    By  this  the  parties  are  mutually 
endeared  and  the  public  ministrations  of  the  preacher  are  more  acceptable 
and  more  efficient.    The  delivery  of  the  quarterly  tickets  is  peculiarly, 
exclusively,  and  indispensably  the  duty  of  the  preacher. 

2.  In  addition  to  this,  we  are  bound  to  meet  the  societies  every  Sun- 
day evening,  after  preaching,  when  we  speak  pointedly  to  them  on  the 
discharge  of  relative  duties,  the  government  of  their  families,  the  religious 
instruction  of  their  children,  their  diligent  attendance  on  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  God,  their  observance  of  the  rules,  and  many  other  subjects 
which  have  an  important  influence  on  the  formation  of  the  Christian 
character.    I  have  feared  that  your  custom  of  beginning  public  worship 
so  late  as  eight  o'clock  must  greatly  hinder  this,  if  it  do  not  supersede  it. 
I  grant,  the  labor  of  the  preacher  is  greatly  increased,  but  to  these  we  are 
inured. 

3.  Our  band  meetings  have  a  most  powerful  influence  on  the  experience 
and  improvement  of  our  people.    The  deep  things  of  God  form  the  subject 
of  their  conversation  at  these  meetings,  and  the  freedom  and  openness 
with  which  they  speak  upon  them  promotes  their  intellectual  growth,  so 
that  these  often  become  the  most  exemplary  and  useful  members  of  our 
societies,  furnishing  male  and  female  leaders  of  a  high  and  excellent  charac- 
ter.   Mr.  Wesley  was  aware  of  the  importance  of  this  part  of  Methodist 
discipline,  and  he  used  to  say:  "Where  there  are  no  bands,  there  is  no 
Methodism." 

4.  The  leaders  of  our  classes  are  required  to  collect  weekly  what  each 
member  can  give  to  the  support  of  the  work,  according  to  the  rule,  and  to 
mark  it  down  in  the  class  papers,  and  at  our  weekly  leaders'  meeting  to 
pay  this  into  the  hands  of  the  society  steward,  by  which  means  a  supply  is 
provided  for  the  support  of  the  preachers;  and,  as  the  sum  is  small  which  is 
individually  subscribed,  it  is  not  felt  a  burden  by  the  poorest  of  our  mem- 
bers, nor  does  it  excite  discontent  or  complaint;  on  the  contrary,  the 
people  are  more  alive  to  the  interests  of  a  cause  which  they  support. 

In  your  scattered  population,  it  would  be  difficult  for  the  preachers  to 
carry  the  whole  of  the  Methodist  discipline  into  effective  operation;  but  in 


314  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

those  cities  and  towns  which  I  visited,  I  could  see  no  insurmountable 
obstacles.  All  that  I  could  perceive  wanting  was  a  vigorous  and  united 
determination  among  the  preachers  to  act  in  concert  in  carrying  the  point. 
Many  of  the  people  with  whom  I  had  intercourse  greatly  long  to  see  these 
things  established  among  them,  convinced  of  the  general  advantage  which 
would  result  from  them  to  the  body  and,  indeed,  to  the  country  at  large. 

I  thought  of  multiplying  these  remarks,  but  at  present  will  desist. 

It  has  afforded  me  much  satisfaction  to  learn  that  the  spirit  of  innova- 
tion, which  prevailed  when  I  was  with  you,  has  subsided  and  is  likely  to 
evaporate  without  doing  much  evil. 

I  wrote  to  Dr.  Jennings  on  the  subject  of  his  publishing  Mark  Robin- 
son's pamphlet,  and  sent  him  a  copy  of  a  review  which  places  that  subject 
in  a  proper  light,  claiming,  on  the  ground  of  "mutual  rights,"  that  it 
might  be  inserted  in  that  publication.  English  Methodism  will  then  be 
presented  in  a  more  correct  light  before  our  American  brethren,  which  we 
are  anxious  should  be  the  case.  Whether  he  will  comply  with  my  request, 
I  have  not  heard;  but  as  the  review  was  quickly  afterwards  sent  to  your 
editors,  in  our  July  and  August  magazines,  possibly  they  may  insert  it  in 
their  publication.  If  we  can  mutually  benefit  each  other,  and  contribute 
to  the  greater  efficiency  of  Wesleyan  Methodism  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, the  great  end  of  our  more  frequent  and  free  intercourse  will  be  an- 
swered. 

I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  Minutes  of  our  last  Conference,  from  which  you 
will  see  that  the  increase  of  our  members  has  been  but  small,  for  which  we 
are  not  able  to  assign  any  reason,  as  the  general  state  of  our  societies  is 
prosperous  as  it  regards  stability  and  a  deepening  of  the  work  of  God. 
However,  our  prospects  are  encouraging.  A  glorious  revival  has  com- 
menced in  the  Isle  of  Man  since  the  Conference  and  is  now  extending  very 
much.  Many  sinners  are  awakened  and  converted  to  God,  and  many  of 
the  believers  have  received  a  deep  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  preparing 
them  to  be  "vessels  unto  honor,  meet  for  the  Master's  use,"  in  extending 
and  establishing  this  work. 

We  have  lost  two  most  valuable  men,  in  the  vigor  of  their  life,  since  the 
Conference,  highly  gifted,  eminently  holy  and  useful  men,  removed  sud- 
denly from  the  work  and  their  families.  The  dispensation  is  mysterious, 
but  the  rod  has  a  voice  and  speaks  impressively,  "All  flesh  is  grass,  and 
the  goodliness  thereof  as  the  flower  of  the  grass,"  etc.  Others,  it  is  true, 
are  raised  up  to  supply  their  places,  but  their  knowledge,  experience, 
and  godly  influence  are  not  soon  acquired;  their  loss  is  therefore  pain- 
fully felt. 

We  are  looking  forward  to  the  next  Conference  with  pleasure,  when  we 
expect  to  receive  our  American  brother,  the  messenger  of  the  Churches, 
and  are  praying  that  he  may  come  in  the  fullness  of  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  and  bring  us  glad  tidings  of  your  prosperity.  May  his  coming  be 
a  blessing  to  us  and  contribute  to  our  encouragement  and  edification! 
I  beg  to  be  kindly  remembered  to  all  my  American  brethren  and  friends 
with  whom  you  may  meet  in  your  travels.  I  remember  them  with  growing 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  315 

affection,  and  hope  to  meet  them  in  a  better  state,  where  there  are  no  sep- 
.arations. 

I  am,  reverend  and  dear  sir,  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

R.  REECB. 

To  which  the  Bishop  replied  from  Baltimore,  July  10,  1826: 

Reverend  and  Dear  Brother:  Your  kind  and  truly  interesting  letter  of 
September  27, 1825,  did  not  reach  me  till  the  fourth  instant.  This  will  ac- 
count for  what  otherwise  might  appear  to  be  unjustifiable  delay  in  recipro- 
cating your  favor.  Accept  my  thanks  for  your  letter  and  the  documents 
accompanying  it.  I  shall  always  rejoice  to  hear  from  you.  Letters  or 
pamphlets  addressed  to  the  care  of  Armstrong  &  Plaskit,  of  this  city,  will 
hardly  fail  to  reach  me. 

Your  friendly  visit  to  this  country  could  not  have  been  more  pleasing  to 
yourself  than  to  the  American  preachers  and  societies  who  were  favored 
with  a  personal  acquaintance  with  you  or  had  the  opportunity  of  enjoying 
the  benefit  of  your  ministerial  labors.  In  addition  to  every  personal  and 
individual  consideration,  your  visit  to  us  was  rendered  deeply  interesting, 
as  it  was  the  pledge  of  union  in  doctrine,  discipline,  and  affection  between 
the  Wesleyan  Methodists  throughout  the  world;  and  I  trust  that  I  shall  not 
cease  to  pray  to  the  God  aind  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  is  Head 
over  all  things  to  the  Church,  that  the  same  faith  and  order  and  brotherly 
love  may  continue  and  abound  more  and  more.  That  there  has  been  and 
still  is  considerable  laxity  in  regard  to  discipline  among  us  in  the  particu- 
lars which  you  notice  is  certain,  and  the  effects  are  to  be  deplored.  For 
it  is  very  obvious  that  as  the  rules  of  the  societies  are  neglected  or  the  ad- 
ministration let  down  in  accommodation  to  the  wealth,  influence,  habits, 
or  education  of  men,  or  from  whatever  other  cause,  there  will  be  a  loss  in 
experimental  and  practical  holiness,  in  inward  and  outward  conformity  to 
God.  Two  circumstances  have  had  very  considerable  influence  in  produc- 
ing and  perpetuating  this  laxity.  The  first  is  the  vast  extent  of  our  field  of 
labor.  We  occupy,  with  pretty  closely  connected  circuits,  districts,  and 
Conferences,  the  whole  of  the  Atlantic  States,  extending  from  the  Bay 
of  Fundy  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  a  distance  of  more  than  two  thousand 
miles,  on  the  most  direct  post  roads,  and  have  spread  over  the  frontier 
States  and  Territories  situated  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  miles 
from  the  ocean.  Occupying  such  an  extensive  country,  where  the  in- 
habitants are  collected  from  nearly  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world 
and  where  the  emigration  from  one  State  to  another  is  perpetual,  it  is 
extremely  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible,  to  establish  and  preserve  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  as  effectually  as  might  be  done  in  a  condensed  and 
permanent  state  of  society.  The  infancy  of  our  ministry  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  extent  of  our  labor  and  tends  to  render  the  administration 
of  discipline  inefficient.  Most  of  the  preachers  in  this  country  enter  the 
connection  very  young  and  without  any  extraordinary  advantages  of 
education;  and,  in  general,  the  means  of  improvement  in  their  circuits 
are  very  limited.  Locations  are  frequent;  consequently,  we  have  compara- 


316  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tively  very  few  men  of  age  and  experience  in  the  itinerant  work.  In  many 
instances  we  are  compelled  to  commit  the  charge,  not  only  of  circuits,  but 
of  districts  also,  to  young  men  of  too  little  experience  for  such  stations. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  state  of  things,  we  have  ground  to  hope  for 
better  days,  especially  since  the  last  General  Conference.  Among  the 
preachers  generally,  there  appears  to  be  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of 
a  more  uniform  and  diligent  attention  to  a  strict  observance  of  the  rules. 
It  has  become  a  subject  of  serious  interest  in  the  deliberations  of  the  An- 
nual Conferences;  and  many  thousands  of  our  members,  especially  those 
who  have  seen  both  the  former  and  the  latter  times,  are  earnestly  de- 
sirous of  the  same  thing. 

The  appointment  of  a  messenger  to  visit  your  Conference  the  present 
year  (as  you  will  have  heard  before  this  letter  arrives)  has  failed;  but  I  am 
happy  to  say  that  the  failure  was  not  occasioned,  even  in  the  most  remote 
manner,  by  a  want  of  disposition  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  and  harmo- 
nious intercourse  with  our  brethren  in  England,  but  from  causes  alto- 
gether extraneous  and  local.  But,  although  we  have  not  been  able  to  ac- 
complish this  desirable  object  the  present  year,  I  indulge  the  hope  that  it 
will  be  effected  the  next;  and  I  trust  that  the  visitation  will  not  be  unac- 
ceptable to  our  British  brethren  on  account  of  a  year's  delay. 

We  have  much  cause  of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  increasing  prosperity 
of  the  work  generally  through  these  States.  The  increase  of  members 
the  last  year,  commencing  with  the  Mississippi  and  closing  with  the  Ten- 
nessee Conference,  was  upward  of  twenty  thousand,  and  the  increase  of 
preachers  for  the  same  period  eighty-one. 

There  is  cause  to  believe  that  the  exertions  which  have  been  made  to 
produce  disaffection  to  the  government  and  discipline  of  the  Church  will 
fail  to  accomplish  the  desired  effect  to  any  considerable  extent,  and  that, 
in  the  ministry  and  membership,  we  shall  still  preserve  the  "unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  The  history  of  those  who  have  separated 
themselves  from  us  and  set  up  "altar  against  altar,"  is  not  calculated  to 
afford  ground  of  gratulation  or  encouragement  to  adventurers,  but  rather 
marks  the  enterprise  as  hazardous.  The  itinerant  ministry,  preserved  in 
the  "demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power,"  will  be  our  salt  and  the 
salt  of  the  earth.  The  great  body  of  local  preachers  and  members  are 
identified  in  doctrine,  spirit,  and  order  with  the  great  itinerant  system. 
Attacks  have  been  made  upon  us  and  will  be  repeated.  Men,  ambitious  of 
rule  and  restless  under  the  administration  of  wholesome  and  godly  dis- 
cipline, will  not  cease  to  complain  of  injured  rights,  grievances,  and  oppres- 
sion; and  in  every  extensive  community  individuals  will  be  found  to  re- 
spond to  these  complaints.  Such  individuals  have  appeared  among  the 
Methodists  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic;  but  hitherto  the  great  body  of 
the  ministers  and  members  has  been  firm  and  steadfast,  and  I  trust  will 
continue  to  be  "strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might,"  and  to 
abound  more  and  more  in  the  unity  and  fellowship  of  saints. 

The  success  of  our  missionary  labors  is  cause  of  encouragement,  grati- 
tude, and  joy.  Although  the  number  of  our  stations  and  our  means  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  317 

supplying  them  are  small  compared  with  those  of  our  British  brethren,  we 
are  (thanks  be  to  God!)  accomplishing  a  great  and  blessed  work.  Thou- 
sands of  the  poor  and  scattered  population  of  the  States  and  Territories  are 
through  this  means  receiving  the  blessing  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Most  of 
our  missions  among  the  Indians  have  succeeded  far  beyond  the  most  san- 
guine expectations  of  their  warmest  friends  at  the  commencement.  You 
will  be  in  possession,  it  is  probable,  of  the  latest  official  reports  from  the 
missionaries  and  the  Board  of  Managers  before  this  reaches  you,  in  which 
you  will  have  a  more  circumstantial  account  than  could  well  be  furnished 
in  a  private  letter. 

In  view  of  the  great  and  marvelous  work  which  God  has  wrought  in 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  Methodists 
since  the  day  on  which  he  raised  up  that  "burning  and  shining  light,"  the 
Rev.  John  Wesley,  of  most  precious  memory,  it  is  very  meet  that  we  should 
be  humble  and  thankful,  and,  as  regards  the  future,  that  we  should  strive 
together  in  the  meekness  of  Christ,  and  in  steadfast  dependence  upon 
divine  agency  till  truth  and  righteousness  fill  the  whole  earth. 

As  it  respects  myself,  the  time  of  my  departure  cannot  be  far  off.  I  have 
entered  the  seventieth  year  of  my  pilgrimage  and  now  tremble,  leaning 
on  my  staff.  Goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life,  and  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  and  the  hope  of  the  gospel  are  the  solace 
of  my  age. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  be  multiplied  to  thee  and  to  the  Church  of 
God,  through  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ!  Amen. 

Yours  affectionately,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

So  soon  as  the  roads  became  passable  in  the  spring  of  1825, 
the  Bishop  started  from  his  brother's,  in  Tennessee,  and  re- 
sumed his  labors  in  visiting  the  Churches  and  preaching.  On 
April  15  he  left  home,  or  if  that  term  does  not  apply  to  a  man 
who,  like  his  Lord,  never  really  had  a  home  on  earth,  Fountain 
Head.  He  reached  Slaughter's,  Ky.,  in  the  rain,  on  the  sixteenth, 
preached  there  on  the  seventeenth  from  John  iii.  19-22;  preached 
in  Russellville  on  the  twentieth,  at  Cook's  Meetinghouse  on  the 
twenty-second  from  Matthew  v.  6;  preached  Fell's  funeral 
sermon  on  the  twenty-fourth;  on  the  twenty-sixth,  preached 
from  Matthew  xi.  30;  traveled  through  "a  great  rain"  to 
James's;  through  rain  again,  to  Staley's  and  Taylor's;  another 
funeral  sermon,  May  1,  from  Isaiah  Ixv.  22;  funeral  sermon  next 
day,  from  1  Samuel  xii.  23;  then  to  Barret's,  Owen's,  Mount 
Zion,  and  so  on,  through  Hardinsburg,  to  Lebanon,  preaching  or 
traveling  every  day.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  B.  McHenry's, 
Springfield,  Puller's,  and  Ferguson's,  and  preached  nearly  every 
day  until  June  3,  when  he  reports  himself  sick.  But  in  a  day  or 
two  he  is  on  his  way  again,  twenty  miles,  to  a  quarterly  meeting. 
Thus  on  he  goes,  through  Harrisburg,  Lexington,  and  George- 


318  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

town,  by  Leroy  Cole's,  etc.,  until  he  reaches  Cynthiana,  June 
17,  resting  only  five  in  ninety-five  days.  Pretty  good  work  for 
an  old  afflicted  man !  Most  of  our  young  preachers  would  think 
it  hard  work. 

On  this  tour  he  falls  in  with  Brother  B.  T.  Crouch  and  spends 
a  month  with  him,  as  already  related.  Then  we  lose  sight  of 
him  for  a  short  time,  but  presently  he  is  found  in  Shelbyville, 
attending  the  Kentucky  Conference  with  Bishop  Roberts  at 
Russellville,  September  22, 1825,  and  we  find  among  his  papers 
regular  Minutes  of  the  whole  proceedings  of  the  body,  appoint- 
ments and  all.  There  he  gets  a  long  letter  from  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Finley,  the  laborious  and  useful  missionary  to  the  Wyandottes. 
He  answers  with  a  heart  warm  to  his  correspondent  and  full  of 
love  to  the  Indians.  He  almost  shouts  in  the  letter,  saying: 
"The  Lord  is  very  good  to  me.  My  spiritual  strength  is  re- 
newed; I  am  growing  in  grace,  and  ripening  for  heaven;  for 
which  I  desire  to  be  deeply  thankful,  and  entirely  devoted  to 
God."  There,  too,  he  gets  a  kind  letter  from  that  noble  and 
devoted  servant  of  the  Church,  the  Rev.  Martin  Ruter,  who 
threw  himself,  from  the  purest  religious  motives,  into  the  active 
duties  of  the  missionary  work  and  fell  a  martyr  to  the  cause  in 
Texas,  where  his  remains  and  his  memory  are  honored  by  his 
brethren. 

Whether  the  two  great  bodies  of  American  Methodism,  which 
separated  in  1844,  will  ever  again  unite  is  very  uncertain.  At 
present  this  seems  improbable,  not  to  say  impracticable;  but 
certainly  there  are  ties  which  tend  to  amity  and  fraternity  of 
a  strong  and  peculiar  nature.  A  common  origin,  similarity  of 
creed,  Church  polity,  and  usages,  and  a  strong  affection  and 
sacred  reminiscences  of  many  honored  and  precious  names 
equally  dear  to  both  must  exert  an  attracting  influence  upon 
them.  Among  many  other  names,  Dr.  Martin  Ruter's  is  one. 

From  the  seat  of  the  Kentucky  Conference  he  takes  our  old 
route  over  the  Cumberland  Mountain,  and  through  East 
Tennessee  to  Jonesboro,  where  the  Holston  Conference  held  its 
session.  Thence  crossing  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  he  reaches 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  attends  a  quarterly  meeting  with  Hezekiah  G. 
Leigh,  of  honored  and  precious  memory,  and  hastens  down 
through  the  snow  to  the  quarterly  meeting  on  old  Greenville 
Circuit,  where  he  exercised  his  early  ministry  and  where  are 
found  "our  most  disaffected  members  of  this  district."  He 
reaches  Mecklenburg,  December  5,  to  recruit  and  write  letters, 
one  of  them  to  Bishop  Soule  in  Milledgeville,  Ga.  Portsmouth 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  319 

brings  him  to  a  short  halt;  from  there  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
New  York,  and  Genesee  Conferences,  and  returns  to  the  South 
in  the  fall.  The  following  winter  he  spent  in  attending  the 
South  Carolina  and  Virginia  Conferences,  and  came  back  to  the 
Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences  in  the  spring  of  1827. 
At  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  session  he  returns  to  Balti- 
more, and  in  May  starts  back  to  the  West;  crossing  the  Allegha- 
ny  Mountains  by  way  of  Cumberland;  passing  into  Ohio  to 
visit,  for  the  third  time,  his  beloved  Wyandottes  and  their 
faithful  missionaries.  Returning,  he  again  passed  through 
Urbana,  and  visited  many  of  the  towns  in  the  southern  part  of 
Ohio,  and  attended  the  Kentucky  Conference  in  Versailles  in 
October.  Thence  he  went  down  into  Tennessee  and  spent  the 
winter  among  his  friends,  visiting  the  societies  and  preaching 
as  he  was  able. 

In  March,  1828,  he  set  out  with  two  delegates  of  that  Con- 
ference, one  of  them  his  old  friend,  James  Gwin,  for  Pittsburgh, 
the  seat  of  the  General  Conference,  and  arrived  there  a  few  days 
before  it  began. 

Having  thus  given  a  concise  account  of  his  travels  and  labors 
for  the  past  four  years  and  up  to  the  session  of  another  General 
Conference,  we  have  reached  a  point  from  which  it  is  proper  to 
retrospect  the  past.  We  see  a  man  who  has  been  granted  a 
superannuated  relation  for  the  last  eight  years  and  requested  to 
do  only  such  service  as  his  health  and  convenience  might  justify, 
now  over  seventy  years  of  age,  enfeebled  by  forty  years'  in- 
cessant toil,  afflicted  with  rheumatism,  piles,  hernia,  vertigo, 
and  asthma,  and  yet  making  the  circuit  of  the  United  States 
annually,  not  in  stagecoaches  over  macadamized  roads  or 
on  railroads,  but  generally  on  horseback,  slowly  traversing 
Indian  territory,  climbing  mountains,  fording  and  sometimes 
swimming  swollen  streams,  through  muddy  roads  and  swamps, 
often  lying  in  miserable  huts  and  open,  dirty  cabins,  subsisting, 
frequently  of  necessity,  on  coarse  and  badly  cooked  food,  going 
through  malarious  regions  under  a  burning  sun,  and  then 
through  the  rains  and  sleet  and  snows  of  winter;  of  a  tempera- 
ment peculiarly  sensitive,  carrying  on  a  correspondence  with 
persons  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and,  above  all,  oppressed 
with  "the  care  of  all  the  Churches."  And  yet  he  never  willingly 
ceased  his  painful  travel  or  murmured  at  the  hardships  and 
sufferings  endured!  And  was  not  he  a  true  "overseer"?  a 
Pauline  "episcopos"?  a  real  New  Testament  bishop?  What 
if  he  could  not  trace  an  undoubted  personal  ordinal  succession 


320  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

from  Peter  or  John?  Who  really  can?  And  what  if  anyone  can? 
Alexander  VI,  Leo  X,  John  XII,  Benedict  IX,  Sylvester  III, 
and  Gregory  VII — "horrible  monsters  as  ever  lived" — even 
the  four  popes  living  at  the  same  time,  each  anathematizing  the 
others  and  calling  them  devils  and  antichrists — yet  each  and  all 
claimed  it. 

Equally  absurd  is  the  claim  of  the  Protestant  Church  of 
England,  the  Church  of  Henry  VIII,  whose  "Majesty  is  the 
only  supreme  head  of  the  Church  of  England  and  Ireland," 
which,  in  severing  her  allegiance  from  the  Romish  Church, 
claimed  to  do  so,  not,  of  course,  on  the  ground  of  succession,  but 
of  prescription — i.  e.,  a  right  before  and  independent  of  all 
written  law — a  "divine  right" — and  yet,  from  the  youngest 
proselyte  to  the  episcopacy,  they  are  now  claiming  that  they 
only  are  the  successors,  by  virtue  of  their  official  lineage,  of  the 
apostles;  while  Coke,  Asbury,  and  McKendree  are  no  bishops 
at  all!  Well,  let  the  Chief  Shepherd  decide. 

Among  the  many  correspondents  of  the  Bishop  during  1825, 
he  received  one  letter  from  his  old  friend  and  colaborer,  Jesse 
Walker,  dated  Sangamon,  111.,  May  18, 1825.  Mr.  Walker  was 
a  rare  character.  He  joined  the  Tennessee  Conference  in  1802 
and  traveled  under  Bishop  McKendree  as  his  presiding  elder  for 
several  years.  His  literary  education  was  quite  limited,  and  he 
was  a  married  man.  Bishop  McKendree  was  an  excellent  judge 
of  men,  and  soon  selected  him  to  take  the  van  of  the  pioneer  army 
of  preachers  in  the  West;  and  the  result  vindicated  his  wisdom. 
Jesse  Walker  was  a  brave,  self-reliant,  zealous  Christian  minis- 
ter. He  feared  only  God,  and  his  great  purpose  was  to  be  good 
and  useful.  The  poor,  the  frontier  settlements,  where  women 
and  children  endured  the  hardships  of  isolation  from  society  and 
were  exposed  to  the  tomahawk,  the  scalping  knife,  and,  what 
was  worse,  to  the  torture  of  fathers  and  sons  and  the  captivity 
of  wives  and  daughters,  excited  his  sympathies;  and  the  poor 
pagan  Indians  themselves,  often  as  "much  sinned  against  as 
sinning,"  aroused  his  Christian  zeal.  He  may  have  had  also  an 
inclination  for  adventure  and  an  instinctive  passion  for  a  roving 
life  among  the  grand  old  forests  and  the  wide,  flowering  prairies 
of  the  West.  But  his  ruling  passion  was  to  preach  Christ  "in 
the  regions  beyond."  For  this  kind  of  life  he  was  admirably 
adapted  physically,  intellectually,  and  morally.  To  a  consti- 
tution of  iron — a  strong,  compact  frame,  capable  of  great  en- 
durance— was  added  a  calm,  shrewd  mind  of  fine  common  sense, 
and  a  wonderful  aptitude  to  adapt  himself  to  his  circumstances, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  321 

and  thus  gain  the  confidence  and  exert  a  controlling  influence 
over  the  rude  settlers  of  the  backwoods  and  the  more  wary  and 
suspicious  Indians.  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Illinois,  Indiana, 
and  Missouri  were  the  fields  of  his  labor.  He  planted  the  gospel 
in  St.  Louis  and  by  his  personal  effort  built  the  first  Methodist 
church  there.  He  has  been  styled  the  Daniel  Boone  of  the 
Church,  but  he  was  more;  his  impulses  were  holier,  his  motives 
and  ends  were  nobler.  He  had  a  tender  and  manly  love  for  his 
wife,  and  an  occasional  visit  to  his  home  was  relished  as  a  reli- 
gious holiday.  His  family  enjoyed  the  narratives  of  his  travels 
and  toils  and  entered  into  his  feelings  and  plans  for  the  good  of 
souls.  From  his  letter  to  the  Bishop,  now  before  us,  we  learn  he 
had  established  missions  among  the  Indians  at  Fort  Clarke  and 
Chicago  and  was  about  to  go  farther  northwest  to  other  tribes. 
He  survived  Bishop  McKendree  only  eight  months,  and  died 
calmly  at  home  in  Illinois,  saying:  "God  has  been  with  me  from 
the  time  of  my  conversion,  and  is  still  with  me."  Few  preachers 
have  equaled  him  in  enduring  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  or  been 
so  useful  as  a  missionary  on  the  frontiers  and  among  the  wild 
Indians. 

Little  things  sometimes  better  develop  the  true  character  of  a 
man  than  his  professions  or  public  actions,  as  the  finer  touches 
of  the  limner's  pencil  best  reveal  the  original.  The  great  ocean 
is  made  of  little  drops  of  water;  the  Himalaya  Mountains  by 
the  aggregation  of  small  particles;  so  of  great  characters.  Bish- 
op McKendree  was  not  transcendently  great  in  anything; 
others  surpassed  him  in  many  particulars,  and  yet,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, very  few  equaled  him.  Some  are  great  in  great  things,  but 
small  in  little  things — intellectually  great,  but  deficient  in  heart 
and  practically  useless,  if  not  pernicious,  and  they  resemble  a 
huge,  bare  mountain,  composed  of  blocks  of  volcanic  rocks; 
not  a  tree  or  shrub  hides  its  ruggedness  or  a  single  wild  flower 
adorns  it,  or  even  a  lichen  or  sprig  of  Iceland  moss  finds  foot- 
hold for  its  hardy  roots;  but  the  snow-crowned  and  ice-clad 
monarch  is  utterly  barren  of  good  and  serves  only  to  chill  the 
air  and  dwarf  the  vegetation  around  its  base.  So  was  Lord 
Byron.  Bishop  McKendree  was  only  a  man,  a  frail,  fallen  one, 
like  all  his  race;  but  he  was  a  full-grown  and  symmetrically 
proportioned  man,  in  body,  mind,  and  heart;  and  the  whole  man 
was  permeated  and  elevated  by  piety.  He  had  not  only  a  mind 
of  rare  analytical  and  logical  acumen,  of  extraordinary  legisla- 
tive and  administrative  ability,  but  of  strong  and  tender  sympa- 
thies. No  unfortunate  preacher  need  ever  be  afraid  to  approach 
21 


322  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  tell  him  all  his  wants  and  woes.  He  was  stern  only  toward 
sin  and  exacting  toward  himself  alone.  The  following  incident 
will  at  once  illustrate  his  kind  and  genial  nature: 

Like  all  the  early  Methodist  preachers  of  the  ecclesiastical 
cavalry  corps,  he  valued  his  horse.  He  did  not  swap  horses  and 
did  not  profess  much  skill  in  judging  as  to  age,  etc. ;  when  obliged 
to  get  a  horse,  he  usually  deputed  some  old  friend  who  better  un- 
derstood the  subject  to  swap  or  purchase  one  for  him;  but  when 
he  got  one  that  suited  him,  no  money  could  purchase  it.  If  his 
horse  got  sick  or  lame,  he  would  leave  him  in  good  hands  and 
buy  another,  and  in  six  or  twelve  months  would  return,  or  send 
for  him.  An  instance  of  this  kind  occurred  in  1825  on  one  of  his 
long  tours,  and,  from  a  letter  before  us,  he  had  written  back  to 
Tennessee  for  his  nephew  to  go  for  him  and  take  good  care  of 
him  until  he  should  return.  It  was  his  famous  "Old  Gray." 
He  had  ridden  this  horse  again  and  again  around  the  circuit  of 
the  United  States.  His  qualities  as  a  riding  horse  suited  his 
aged  master.  They  suited  each  other,  and  there  was  a  strong 
mutual  attachment.  Gray  was  almost  as  well  known  by  thou- 
sands as  was  his  owner.  In  the  Bishop's  last  will  and  testament, 
he  bequeathed  to  Old  Gray  money  sufficient  out  of  his  little 
savings  to  furnish  him  plenty  of  food,  a  good  stable,  a  nice 
blue-grass  pasture  for  life,  and  an  honorable  burial.  The  last 
time  we  heard  from  Old  Gray  he  was  about  thirty  years  old,  and 
was  fat  and  flourishing  in  a  gray  old  age. 

The  events  of  1826  were  too  important  to  be  passed  over 
cursorily.  We  have  followed  Bishop  McKendree  from  the 
West  to  Virginia,  and  through  the  snows  of  the  winter  of  1825- 
26,  making  his  toilsome  journey  to  Portsmouth;  there  meeting 
Bishop  Soule,  they  presided  over  the  Virginia  Conference, 
February  15, 1826,  where  the  project  was  initiated  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  literary  institution  of  high  grade,  which  ultimated 
in  founding  Randolph-Macon  College.  On  March  8,  the  Balti- 
more Conference  was  attended  by  the  same  bishops.  The 
Philadelphia  Conference  followed,  April  12;  and  on  May  7, 
Bishop  McKendree  preached  and  dedicated  Willett  Street 
Church,  in  New  York,  Bishop  Soule  preaching  in  the  afternoon 
and  Bishop  Hedding  at  night.  May  15,  the  seventh  anniver- 
sary of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  held  in  old  John  Street  Church,  New  York,  Bishop 
McKendree  presiding,  Bishops  Soule  and  Hedding,  Dr.  Bangs, 
Dr.  Luckey,  Dr.  Fisk,  Samuel  Merwin,  and  Freeborn  Garrettson 
taking  parts  in  the  meeting.  It  was  an  exceedingly  interesting 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  323 

occasion.  The  place  in  which  it  was  held — the  cradle  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism — the  venerable  and  talented  ministers  who 
bore  a  conspicuous  position  in  it,  as  well  as  the  great  object 
of  the  meeting,  all  conspired  to  give  it  dignity  and  interest. 

The  New  York  Conference  began  May  10, 1826,  attended  by 
the  three  bishops  named;  and  the  Genesee  Conference  began  at 
Palmyra,  N.  Y.,  June  7,  Bishops  McKendree  and  Hedding  pre- 
siding. A  camp  meeting,  attended  by  ten  thousand  persons,  was 
held  in  a  grove  at  the  same  time.  Bishop  McKendree  preached 
at  ten  o'clock  Sunday  to  this  immense  concourse. 

'May  10,  the  Bishop's  old  colleague  and  long- tried  friend, 
Philip  Bruce,  died  in  Giles  County,  Tenn.,  in  the  triumph  of 
Christian  faith.  He  entered  the  itinerancy  in  1781,  seven  years 
earlier  than  the  Bishop,  and  died  a  superannuated  member  of 
the  Virginia  Conference.  He  was  a  wise,  holy,  and  useful  man; 
assisted  greatly  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  government  of 
the  Church,  and  was  always  true  and  faithful  to  its  interests. 
The  Bishop  mourned  his  death  as  a  brother.1 

lWhen  Philip  Bruce  became  an  itinerant  preacher  in  1781,  there  were 
only  about  20  preachers,  and  less  than  10,000  members  in  America.  (See 
Minutes,  1780.)  He  is  said  to  have  been  teaching  school  in  North  Carolina 
when  the  war  of  the  Revolution  occurred;  quit  his  school,  raised  a  company 
of  volunteers,  acted  gallantly  in  the  great  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  and 
became  distinguished  for  his  zeal  and  usefulness  as  a  preacher.  He  was 
for  many  years  a  presiding  elder  in  the  Virginia  Conference;  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  forming  the  constitution  and  polity  of  the  Church,  and 
was  regarded  by  Asbury  and  McKendree  as  a  wise  and  trusty  adviser; 
and,  after  he  had  become  superannuated,  he  came  to  Tennessee  and  re- 
sided at  his  brother's.  The  writer  knew  him  well  and  revered  and  loved 
him  greatly.  He  was  indeed  a  holy,  cheerful,  and  useful  preacher.  Dr. 
G.  D.  Taylor,  who  was  with  him  at  his  death,  says  the  night  before  he  died 
he  requested  "to  be  left  alone  with  God."  And  when  the  Doctor  entered 
his  room,  at  the  early  dawn  of  day,  and  asked  how  he  was,  and  how  he  had 
spent  the  night,  his  countenance  brightened,  and  he  replied:  "O  Doctor,  I 
am  perfectly  happy!  I  have  been  almost  in  heaven  all  night!  Such  views 
of  God,  of  Christ  and  glory ! "  And  thus,  in  perfect  rapture,  he  passed  from 
earth  to  heaven.  Like  McKendree,  he  never  married,  but  gave  his  whole 
life  to  God  and  Methodism;  and,  like  him,  he  died  happy.  He  professed 
to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  sanctifying  grace;  he  preached  it;  lived  an  exempli- 
fication of  it,  and  died  its  witness.  He  resided  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  my  father;  baptized,  married,  and  buried  several  of  our  family, 
and  was  a  great  blessing  to  the  community  even  in  his  extreme  old  age. 
His  memory  is  dear  to  many,  and  to  none  more  than  to  the  writer.  What 
a  state  of  society  must  that  be  in  heaven  made  up  of  such  as  he!  But  a 
greater  and  lovelier  than  he  is  there! 


324  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

After  attending  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  in  June,  he 
returned  South  by  way  of  Baltimore,  arriving  in  Washington 
City  soon  after  July  4,  upon  which  day  Thomas  Jefferson  and 
John  Adams  died,  just  fifty  years  after  they  subscribed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Thus  its  author  and  its  ablest 
advocate  "were  not  in  death  divided." 

August  29,  Bishop  McKendree  leaves  his  old  friend  Foxhall's, 
Georgetown,  to  go  South  and  attend  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference, at  Augusta,  Ga.,  passing  through  and  preaching  (1 
Thess.  v.  21-24)  in  Fairfax,  Fauquier,  and  Culpepper  Counties, 
to  Madison  Camp  Meeting,  where  he  preached  twice  (Isa.  xlv. 
22);  thence  .to  Timber-lake's,  in  Fluvanna,  where  he  preached 
three  times  at  a  camp  meeting  (Matt.  v.  6;  Matt.  xi.  28-30; 
Eph.  vi.  1-4). 

He  attended  and  preached  three  times  the  next  week  at  a 
camp  meeting  in  Nelson  County;  the  same  the  following  week  at 
the  Buckingham  Camp  Meeting;  then  at  a  camp  meeting  in 
Mecklenburg,  and  spent  a  few  days  among  his  old  friends — 
Edmund,  Howell,  and  Allen  Taylor — preaching  nearly  every 
day.  Thence,  crossing  Roanoke,  through  Granville  and  Person 
Counties,  N.  C.,  to  a  camp  meeting  in  Halifax,  Va.;  and  thence, 
resuming  his  route,  through  Caswell  and  Guilford,  N.  C.,  stop- 
ping to  rest  a  day  at  Mendenhall's,  after  riding  thirty-four  miles 
the  previous  day,  attending  several  meetings.  Crossing  Pee- 
dee  River,  he  pushed  forward  to  Columbia,  S.  C.;  thence  to 
Charleston,  December  9,  1826.  Here  he  rested  a  few  days,  if 
preaching,  writing,  and  visiting  daily  may  be  called  resting; 
and,  after  attending  two  quarterly  meetings  and  preaching  four 
times  on  the  way,  he  arrived  in  Augusta,  Ga.,  January  8,  1827.. 

The  South  Carolina  Conference  commenced  here  January  11, 
Bishops  Roberts  and  Soule  being  present.  The  three  bishops, 
after  the  close  of  the  Conference,  left  in  company;  Bishop 
Roberts  went  home  and  the  other  two  traveled  back  to  Balti- 
more together,  going  through  Camden,  Fayetteville,  Raleigh, 
Fredericksburg,  and  Georgetown,  arriving  at  Baltimore,  March 
27;  and,  after  attending  and  presiding  at  Conferences  and  anni- 
versaries in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York  Bishop 
McKendree  gets  back  to  Baltimore,  May  4,  and  reports  himself 
sick — and  no  wonder. 

Thus  in  his  seventieth  year  did  he  go  on,  on  in  his  never- 
ceasing  round  of  travel  and  sufferings. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  his  next  move  was 
for  his  Indian  friends;  and,  after  a  long  and  wearisome  ride,  he 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  325 

again  gets  to  the  Wyandottes,  June  16, 1827;  thence  back  again 
to  Tennessee,  where  winter  overtook  him  and  compelled  him  to 
lie  up  until  spring.  Here,  in  the  society  of  his  relatives,  and  at 
Nashville,  in  the  hospitable  mansions  of  Joseph  T.  Elliston, 
whose  excellent  wife  had  been  the  widow  of  his  beloved  and 
lamented  colaborer,  Learner  Blackman,  and  H.  R.  W.  Hill,  both 
of  whom  kept  a  room  known  as  the  Bishop's  room,  where  he  was 
ever  welcome  and  most  kindly  treated,  he  passed  much  of  his 
time  during  the  winters  spent  in  Tennessee,  always  busy  writing 
or  reading.  An  incident  occurred  about  this  time  at  Mr. 
Elliston's  which  is  perhaps  worth  recording.  He  was  very  sick 
and  suffering  exquisitely.  A  doctor  was  called,  and,  upon  ex- 
amining his  venerable  patient,  became  alarmed  and  also" greatly 
surprised  that  under  such  torturing  pain  he  was  so  quiet  and 
uncomplaining,  and  referred  to  it,  saying,  "Bishop,  how  can  you 
bear  such  pain  so  quietly?"  The  old  gentleman  opened  his 
eyes,  and,  looking  with  a  smile  at  the  inquirer,  answered: 
"Doctor,  does  your  philosophy  explain  how  a  Christian  can  be 
perfectly  happy  while  his  body  is  in  agony?  Must  there  not  be 
a  soul  in  him?  "  The  doctor  was  silent,  for  he  was  skeptical,  and 
then  said:  "Bishop,  it  must  be  so." 

On  September  27, 1827,  Freeborn  Garrettson,  another  of  the 
Bishop's  old  fellow  laborers  and  a  most  laborious,  useful,  and 
lovely  man,  died  in  New  York.  He  was  a  native  of  Maryland; 
born  1752;  converted  in  1775,  and  began  to  preach  the  same 
year.  His  labors  extended  throughout  Maryland,  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  York,  and  New  England,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
and  Nova  Scotia.  His  faithful  and  highly  useful  life  as  an  itin- 
erant preacher  was  continued  to  his  death,  covering  an  eventful 
period  in  Methodism  of  fifty-two  years.  His  piety  was  pro- 
found and  uniform;  and  few  men  have  done  more  for  Methodism 
and  for  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  souls.  He  had  recently 
parted  for  the  last  time  from  the  Bishop  at  the  New  York  Con- 
erence.  The  year  previously  Bishops  McKendree  and  Hedding 
had  visited  and  rested  several  days  at  his  hospitable  house  at 
Rhinebeck,  and,  just  before  his  death,  he  had  been  again  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of  1828,  but  his  long  and 
arduous  labors  were  succeeded  by  perpetual  rest,  and  his  spirit 
went  to  God  who  gave  it.  He  lived  and  died  professing  perfect 
love,  and  his  life  and  dying  testimony  vindicated  the  truthful- 
ness of  his  profession.  He  was  greatly  and  justly  respected  in 
life,  and  his  name  and  memory  are  honored  by  all  who  knew 
him. 


326  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Throughout  the  whole  ministerial  life  of  Bishop  McKendree 
we  are  impressed  with  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  missions. 
The  frontier  settlers,  Africa,  the  slaves  in  America,  and  the 
Indians  all  shared  in  his  sympathies  and  efforts.  Here  we  find 
him  again  enduring  another  long  and  tiresome  journey  to  visit 
the  Indians,  and  that  this  affectionate  concern  for  their  spiritual 
welfare  was  appreciated  by  them,  the  following  letter  demon- 
strates: 

UPPER  SANDUSKY,  September  5,  1825. 

Father:  On  the  fifth  day  of  the  first  fall  month  we  are  assembled  to- 
gether, and  all  of  us  salute  you  in  the  Lord;  returning  thanks  to  God  that 
he  has  spared  us  all  alive  and  that  all  the  leaders  that  you  saw  here  when 
you  were  with  us  last  are  still  alive  and  have  good  health  with  most  of  our 
Nation. 

Bishop  McKendree,  father  in  the  Church,  we,  your  brethren  and 
children,  send  you  this  letter  to  let  you  know  some  of  the  good  that  has  fall- 
en to  us  through  your  exertions  in  sending  us  the  most  blessed  gospel.  We 
still  are  watching  and  laboring,  and  are  determined  to  do  so  till  the  end 
comes.  Many  of  our  people  are  still  on  their  way  to  heaven  and  are  happy 
in  the  love  of  God;  and  we,  your  leaders  in  the  Church,  are  still  going  from 
house  to  house,  and  trying  with  all  our  might  to  banish  all  evil  from 
amongst  our  people. 

But,  father,  we  must  tell  you  the  bad  with  the  good.  Some  of  our  people 
slid  back.  This  we  know  will  not  be  so  pleasant  for  you  to  hear;  but  you 
must  pity  us  and  help  us  by  your  prayers;  though  we  are  not  out  of  heart, 
for  we  still  believe  the  Lord  will  hear  our  prayers,  and  the  work  we  will 
never  give  up.  Although  we  have  many  difficulties  to  encounter,  the  Lord 
helps  us,  and  we  are  much  encouraged,  and  we  think  we  are  gaining 
strength.  One  of  our  chiefs,  Warpole,  that  did  not  belong  to  us,  has  joined, 
and  this  day  was  received  into  full  connection  and  appointed  one  of  the 
leaders.  We  hope  he  will  prove  faithful  and  make  us  a  strong  stake. 

The  school  is  still  prospering,  and  our  children  are  like  the  buds  of  the 
trees  in  the  spring;  and  although  we  have  not  yet  tasted  the  ripe  fruit  we 
see  the  blossoms  and  rejoice  in  expectation  and  believe  we  will  not  be  dis- 
appointed. We  still  pray  that  you  continue  your  care  for  us  and  our 
children;  and  through  you  we  return  our  thanks  to  all  our  friends  that  have 
contributed  to  help  forward  this  great  work  among  our  Nation.  We  hope 
they  will  not  get  tired,  but  as  they  have  helped  us  to  wake  out  of  our  deep 
sleep  and  on  to  our  feet,  they  will  still  help  until  we  can  walk  and  gather  food 
for  ourselves. 

In  our  farming  business  we  are  still  on  the  march,  and  go  the  slower  be- 
cause we  are  poor  and  unacquainted  with  the  business;  but  our  condition  is 
altered  very  much  for  the  better.  Father,  when  we  last  took  you  by  the 
hand,  you  told  us  you  was  old,  and  did  never  expect  to  see  us  again.  This 
made  us  very  sorry,  but  we  still  hoped  God  would  bring  you  back  this  last 
summer;  but  we  heard  you  do  not  expect  to  get  here.  It  may  be  God  will 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  327 

appoint  a  day  for  us  to  see  one  another  on  earth  again;  but  if  not,  we  are 
determined  to  do  as  you  told  us  and  hold  fast  until  we  meet  in  heaven. 
There  we  hope  to  meet  you,  and  all  your  brothers  in  the  ministry.  Father, 
we  cannot  express  our  minds  to  you  and  your  brothers  (the  bishops)  as  we 
feel  for  the  gospel;  and  we  do  thank  you  all,  and  want  you  to  know  that  we 
pray  for  you  all,  and  we  hope  you  will  not  forget  to  pray  for  us. 

BETWEBN-THE-LOGS,  his  X  mark. 

JOHN  HICKS,  his  X  mark. 

MENONCUE,  his  X  mark. 

PEACOCK,  his  X  mark. 

GEORGE  PUNCH,  his  X  mark. 

SUMMENDERWITT,  his  X  mark. 

HARREHOOT,  his  X  mark. 

JAMES  BIG  TREE,  his  X  mark. 

This  letter  was  dictated  by  Between-the-Logs  and  Menoncue  and  inter- 
preted by  Isaac  Walker,  United  States  interpreter,  and  written  by  myself 
as  interpreted. 

Certified  by  me.  J.  B.  FINLEY. 

We  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  inserting  here  the  following 
letter  to  the  author  from  the  Rev.  Henry  Smith.  He  entered 
the  traveling  connection  in  1794  and  was  associated  with  the 
Bishop,  both  in  the  Atlantic  and  Western  Conferences,  for 
many  years.  It  was  written  in  1855,  having  heard  that  the 
writer  had  been  requested  to  prepare  and  publish  the  life  of  the 
Bishop.  He  was  then  residing  near  Baltimore  and  was  among 
the  oldest,  if  not  the  very  oldest,  of  living  itinerant  Methodist 
preachers,  being  eighty-five  years  of  age  and  about  sixty  years 
in  the  itinerancy.  He  has  since  gone  to  rest.  The  greater  part 
was  written  by  a  lady  friend  at  his  dictation,  the  remainder  by 
his  own  aged  and  trembling  hand.  It  is  a  valuable  memorial  of 
its  venerated  author,  as  well  as  an  affectionate  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  his  beloved  old  colleague  and  friend. 

To  Bishop  R.  Pain. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  I  am  truly  glad  that  we  are  at  last  to  have  a 
Memoir,  or  Life,  of  that  extraordinary  man,  Bishop  McKendree.  I  think 
the  Conference  has  been  happy  in  their  selection,  and  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve it  will  be  a  fair  and  impartial  history  of  that  excellent  man  and  his 
times.  I  fear  you  are  not  furnished  ample  matter  to  enable  you  to  do 
justice  to  your  subject.  Our  early  preachers  seemed  to  have  lived  and 
labored  not  for  history,  but  for  the  generation  they  were  appointed  to 
serve;  a  Garrettson  and  Waiters  have  left  something  to  perpetuate  their 
memory,  but  of  the  talented  E.  Cooper  and  his  associates  the  present 
generation  knows  very  little. 

Now,  dear  Bishop,  it  would  give  me  pleasure,  and  I  would  esteem  it  an 


328  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

honor,  to  furnish  you  with  some  material  to  make  your  "Life  of  McKen- 
dree" complete;  but  alas!  my  sight  and  memory  are  greatly  impaired; 
withal,  I  am  troubled  with  vertigo,  and  my  kind  doctor  forbids  me  to  read  or 
write  much;  but  when  my  old  and  esteemed  friend  Bishop  McKendree  is 
concerned,  I  am  inclined  to  disobey  the  doctor,  and  venture  to  furnish  you 
with  a  few  scraps;  perhaps  you  can  pick  something  out  of  them. 

Of  Bishop  McKendree's  early  history  I  personally  know  nothing;  and 
yet  I  think  I  can  correct  Dr.  McClintock  in  one  thing  which  he  says  in  his 
sketch  of  McKendree,  on  page  69.  That  William  McKendree  was  a  patriot 
of  high  order,  there  remains  not  a  doubt;  but  from  what  he  told  me  while 
riding  over  the  ground  in  October,  1820,  he  belonged  to  a  company  of 
country  volunteers,  raised,  I  presume,  in  his  immediate  neighborhood. 
They  were  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and  he  pointed  out  to  me  the  place 
where  they  were  encamped  and  where  they  were  drilled;  but  what  rank  he 
sustained  in  the  army,  or  what  part  he  bore  on  that  memorable  occasion,  I 
never  heard  him  say;  but  McKendree  could  not  be  hid  or  found  in  the  rear 
of  any  important  enterprise.  I  never  saw  McKendree  until  May  4, 1800,  at 
the  Baltimore  Conference,  held  at  the  Stone  Chapel,  about  five  miles  from 
where  I  write.  He  preached  to  a  crowded  house,  while  Jesse  Lee  preached 
to  a  still  greater  crowd  out  of  doors.  His  sermon  showed  plainly  that  he 
was  "a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed."  On  the  General  Con- 
ference floor,  on  May  6, 1  first  heard  him  exhibit  his  peculiar  talent  for  de- 
bate; he  certainly  had  a  remarkable  gift  for  analyzing  and  sifting  a  subject 
to  the  bottom.  His  clear,  penetrating,  far-seeing  mind  qualified  him  for 
this.  After  this,  I  never  saw  Bishop  McKendree  until  October  21, 1802, 
when  he  appeared  as  our  presiding  elder  in  Kentucky.  We  needed  at  that 
time  just  such  a  man.  We  had  then  a  Bush,  a  Wilkerson,  a  Kobler,  a  Sale, 
a  Page,  and  other  worthy  men;  but  still  just  such  a  spirit  as  our  McKendree 
was  needed.  He  succeeded  in  bringing  a  firmer  union  between  the  local 
and  traveling  ministry,  and  more  fully  getting  our  preachers  and  people 
to  profit  by  the  great  revival  which  had  just  commenced.  His  charge  was 
heavy,  his  responsibility  great;  but  he  never  shunned  responsibility  where 
the  cause  of  God  was  concerned.  Though  naturally  a  man  of  keen  sen- 
sibilities, if  he  saw  a  storm  coming,  could  shut  up  his  feelings,  as  he  used 
to  call  it,  and  calmly  and  boldly  meet  every  difficulty;  and  then  his  clear, 
comprehensive  mind  and  sound  judgment  developed  itself.  Those  who 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and  hearing  Mr.  McKendree  can  never  forget 
him,  and  the  present  as  well  as  future  generations  should  gratefully  remem- 
ber his  labors  of  love  in  the  West.  His  administrations  were  judicious  and 
wise  and  were  crowned  with  success.  I  presume  Mr.  McKendree  was  then 
in  the  prime  of  his  life  and  usefulness.  In  the  pulpit  he  was  original,  his 
method  and  oratory  entirely  his  own;  nothing  artificial  about  it;  natural 
and  fascinating.  His  voice,  though  not  loud  and  thundering,  could  he 
heard  in  the  open  air  by  thousands.  His  preaching  was  often  attended  with 
a  soul-searching,  melting,  subduing  influence  that  bore  down  all  before  it. 
Christians  were  made  to  jump  and  shout,  yes,  more  than  shouting  happy, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  329 

while  sinners  were  cut  to  the  heart.  I  saw  and  heard  Bishop  McKendree 
in  his  prime  and  shall  never  hear  or  look  on  such  another. 

In  the  General  Conference  of  1808,  he  distinguished  himself  in  favor  of  a 
delegated  General  Conference.  I  did  not  hear  the  sermon  he  preached  in 
Light  Street  Church,  in  Baltimore,  at  this  Conference,  which  Bishop 
Asbury  said  would  make  him  a  bishop.  The  records  will  show  that  he  was 
elected  to  the  episcopacy  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

At  the  first  delegated  General  Conference,  May  1, 1812,  Bishop  McKen- 
dree drew  up  a  plan  of  business  to  be  brought  before  the  Conference;  but 
as  it  was  a  new  thing,  the  aged  Bishop  Asbury  rose  to  his  feet  immediately 
after  the  reading  of  the  paper  by  the  secretary,  and  addressed  the  junior 
bishop  to  the  following  effect:  "I  have  something  to  say  to  you  before 
the  Conference."  The  junior  bishop  also  rose  to  his  feet,  and  they  stood 
face  to  face.  Bishop  Asbury  said:  "This  is  a  new  thing.  I  never  did 
business  in  this  way,  and  why  is  it  introduced?  "  The  junior  smiled,  and 
promptly  replied:  "You  are  our  father,  and  we  are  your  sons;  you  never 
had  need  of  it.  But  I  am  only  a  brother,  and  have  need  of  it."  The  senior 
bishop  said  no  more,  but  sat  down  with  a  smile  on  his  countenance.  The 
scene  is  now  before  my  mind. 

The  action  of  the  General  Conference,  which  met  in  Baltimore  in  1820, 
relative  to  the  presiding  eldership  question,  greatly  afflicted  our  worthy 
Bishop,  the  more  so  as  his  colleagues  differed  from  him  in  opinion  on  the 
subject.  I  had  several  conversations  with  one  of  them  on  the  subject;  and 
so  far  as  I  could  learn,  they  were  both,  so  far  as  personally  concerned, 
satisfied  with  the  rules  as  they  were,  but  thought  it  best  to  yield  this  point 
for  peace's  sake,  for  they  feared  a  split  in  the  Church.  Bishop  McKendree 
conscientiously  believed  that  as  an  important  principle  was  involved, 
the  measure  was  an  infringement  of  our  constitution  and  fraught  with 
mischief.  All  this  bore  heavily  on  his  constitution,  already  broken  by 
labor  and  care.  I  sympathized  with  him  and  became  his  traveling  com- 
panion, as  he  wished  to  travel  for  his  health  and  visit  the  Churches  and 
families  of  his  old  friends.  I  knew  the  man  in  the  vigor  and  tide  of  useful- 
ness, and  I  now  saw  him  almost  a  wreck;  but  his  concern  for  the  Church 
and  his  zeal  for  the  cause  of  God  were  not  at  all  abated. 

On  June  19,  he  left  the  house  of  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Henry  Wilkins,  and 
made  a  visit  to  Virginia,  calling  on  many  families,  and  preaching  as  often 
as  he  could.  Upon  our  return  to  Baltimore,  we  called  at  a  camp  meeting 
on  Frederick  Circuit,  where  the  Bishop  preached,  and  was  divinely  aided. 
The  sermon  had  a  prodigious  effect,  for  he  rose  above  his  weakness,  and  it 
reminded  me  of  former  days.  That  sermon  is  still  remembered  and  spoken 
of  by  a  few  of  the  many  who  heard  it,  the  most  of  whom  have  passed  away. 

Very  frequently  we  were  on  our  way  before  daylight  and  stopped  by  the 
wayside  to  refresh  ourselves  with  what  we  had  brought  with  us,  and  in  this 
he  rebuked  many  of  the  present  race  of  preachers.  He  tried  to  imitate  his 
Master,  "who  went  about  doing  good." 

I  must  here  conclude  by  saying  that  I  am  sorry  I  can  afford  you  so  little 
aid.  I  should  like  to  have  a  copy  of  your  work,  should  I  live  to  see  it 


330  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

published.  I  am  as  well  as  I  could  expect  to  be,  after  passing  through 
eighty-five  winters.  My  general  health  is  better  than  it  was  forty  years 
ago,  but  weakness  and  the  infirmities  of  age  attend  me;  yet  still  "the 
Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  forever." 

Respectfully  and  very  affectionately,  yours  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel, 

HENRY  SMITH. 

PILGRIM'S  REST,  HOOKTOWN,  BALTIMORE,  MD.,  February  6, 1855. 

The  Rev.  Lewis  Garrett,  Sr.,  who  died  in  peace  some  years 
since  in  Canton,  Miss.,  sent  the  author  several  communications, 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  made.  Lewis  Garrett 
entered  the  itinerant  ministry  at  the  same  time  with  Henry 
Smith,  in  1794,  and,  like  him,  traveled  with  the  Bishop,  both  in 
Virginia  and  the  West.  He  was  a  preacher  of  unusual  power  and 
force  of  character.  He  was  editor  of  the  Western  Methodist,  pub- 
lished in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  wrote  an  interesting  little  volume 
of  "Biographical  Sketches,"  chiefly  of  Western  preachers. 

"In  the  autumn  of  1795, 1  was  called  by  Bishop  Asbury  to  go 
from  Holston  to  the  Virginia  Conference.  On  my  way,  at  the 
house  of  a  brother,  I  first  saw  Mr.  McKendree.  His  plain  and 
affable  manner  interested  me.  At  the  Conference  he  was  ap- 
pointed .presiding  elder  of  a  district  east  of  James  River  and 
placed  in  charge  of  Williamsburg  Circuit.  I  was  appointed  to 
Orange  Circuit,  in  that  district.  In  1797,  he  presided  over  the 
same  district  enlarged,  and  extending  from  Gloucester  to  Green- 
brier.  In  1799,  he  presided  over  a  district  in  the  northern  part 
of  Virginia  embracing  Alexandria.  In  1800,  he  was  on  his  old 
district,  and  I  on  Gloucester  Circuit.  We  met  at  the  General 
Conference,  in  Baltimpre,  May  1, 1800.  The  smallpox  was  very 
prevalent.  I  was  inoculated ;  he  knew  it.  Late  at  night  he  came 
to  my  room.  I  had  had  a  chill,  was  covered  up,  and  had  a  high 
fever.  He  jerked  off  the  cover  and  alarmed  me,  showing  much 
concern  for  my  safety.  He  was  a  kind  friend.  In  the  fall  of 
1800,  he  was  sent  to  Kentucky,  where  there  was  no  presiding 
elder,  and  in  1801,  presided  over  the  whole  Western  country. 
Having  lost  my  health  in  the  lowlands  of  Virginia,  I  obtained 
leave  to  return  to  the  West,  and  met  him  at  the  Western  Con- 
ference, held  at  Earnest's,  on  Nolichucky,  East  Tennessee, 
October  1,  1801.  He  being  appointed  to  the  same  district,  and 
I  to  Lexington  Circuit,  Ky.,  we  traveled  together  to  Kentucky. 
This  was  an  interesting  journey  to  me,  because  I  never  met  with 
a  more  agreeable  traveling  companion.  Always  prompt  and  'at 
the  time/  economical  of  time,  and  careful  in  prearrangement,  a 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  331 

oiterer  or  one  devoid  of  forecast  would  be  left  behind.    He  was 
also  social  and  communicative. 

"William  McKendree  had  no  talent  for  getting  up  or  carrying 
on  a  revival;  and  yet  his  discourses  were  animating  and  in- 
structive in  a  high  degree.  The  great  revival  of  1800  had 
awakened  inquiry.  The  dogmas  of  Calvin  and  Antinomian 
delusions  had  received  a  shock,  and  controversy  was  prevalent. 
Mr.  McKendree  was  the  man  for  the  times.  He  was  then  ro- 
bust and  of  commanding  personal  appearance.  I  have  seen  him 
enchain  for  two  hours  the  attention  of  large  crowds  with  his 
ingenuous,  argumentative,  and  animating  sermons.  Though 
modest  and  retiring,  when  duty  called  he  was  prompt  and  fear- 
less. In  1804  and  1805, 1  traveled  Cumberland  District,  and  he 
remained  on  the  Kentucky  District.  In  1805,  I  located,  and 
he  succeeded  me  on  the  Cumberland  District.  We  met  again 
at  the  Western  Conference,  held  at  a  camp  meeting  at  Liberty 
Hill,  October,  1808.  He  was  then  bishop.  I  love  and  respect 
his  memory  and  desire  to  see  his  successors  imitate  him  in  zeal, 
purity,  and  usefulness." 


CHAPTER  XX 

General  Conference  of  1828  at  Pittsburgh — Bishops'  Address — Sus- 
pended Resolutions  lost — "Wesleyan  Repository" — "Mutual  Rights" 
— McCane  and  others  expelled — Memorial — Report  upon  it  by  Dr. 
Emory — Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond  and  Dr.  Emory  defend  the  Church — 
Canada  question  settled — Action  of  the  General  Conference — Infer- 
ences— Dr.  Capers  elected  delegate  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Con- 
ference— Dr.  Fisk — Bishop  McKendree's  account  of  this  Conference — 
A  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  Church — The  Bishop's  Journal — Travels 
back  to  Tennessee — Attends  quarterly  and  camp  meetings  in  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee — His  route  to  Georgia  over  Lookout  Mountain — 
Preached  to  an  Indian  Council — Gets  to  Athens,  Ga. — At  Asbury  Hull's 
— Sick — Ordains  Stephen  Olin — Sketch  of  him. 

WE  have  seen  that  Bishop  McKendree  had  arrived  at  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  a  few  days  before  the  General  Conference  began  its 
session  there  on  May  1,  1828.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five 
delegates  were  present  out  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
elected,  and  all  the  five  bishops  were  there — McKendree, 
Roberts,  George,  Soule,  and  Hedding.  The  senior  bishop 
opened  the  session,  as  he  had  done  since  the  death  of  Bishop 
Asbury.  Dr.  Martin  Ruter  was  elected  Secretary,  and  the 
quadrennial  Address  of  the  Bishops  was  read  and  referred  to  the 
committees.  It  referred  gratefully  to  the  general  prosperity  of 
the  Church  and  especially  to  the  extensive  revivals  during  the 
past  three  years,  to  the  importance  of  sustaining  the  missionary 
work,  the  Sunday  School  and  Tract  Societies,  and  to  the  admin- 
istration of  the  government  of  the  Church.  The  bishops  re- 
gretted their  failure  of  sending  a  delegate  to  the  British  Con- 
ference, asserting  it  had  not  been  owing  to  any  want  of  affection 
for  their  British  brethren  or  of  respect  for  the  expressed  will  of 
the  last  General  Conference;  and,  without  stating  the  cause  of 
this  failure,  they  suggested  that  the  Conference  itself  should 
select  and  send  one.  The  General  Conference  of  1824  requested 
and  directed  the  bishops  to  select  and  send  a  preacher  as  a  repre- 
sentative from  the  American  Methodists  to  the  British  Con- 
ference, and  the  senior  bishop  had  endeavored  to  get  all  his 
colleagues  together  to  make  the  selection.  This  was  found  diffi- 
cult to  accomplish;  but  the  principal  impediment  had  been  that 
three  of  them  nominated  Dr.  William  Capers,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, for  this  mission,  and  an  objection  had  been  made  on  ac- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  333 

count  of  his  connection  with  slavery;  and  so,  after  several  in- 
effectual attempts,  the  matter  was  dropped,  and  the  true  reason 
was  not  stated.  It  also  appears  that  Dr.  Capers  declined  the 
nomination,  giving  as  his  reasons  the  responsibility  of  the 
office  and  his  dread  of  crossing  the  ocean,  as  well  as  the  time  it 
would  take  him  from  his  work  and  his  family. 

Bishop  McKendree,  in  common  with  many  others,  felt  no 
little  solicitude  as  to  the  course  this  General  Conference  would 
pursue  in  reference  to  several  important  measures.  "The  sus- 
pended resolutions,"  which  were  calculated  to  diminish  very 
seriously  the  authority  of  the  episcopacy  in  the  appointment  of 
the  presiding  elders  and  stationing  the  preachers,  were  expected 
to  come  up  for  final  action;  but  the  subject  had  been  so  generally 
discussed,  and  opposition  to  the  measure  had  been  so  decidedly 
expressed  by  the  Annual  Conferences,  that  it  was  lost  by  an 
overwhelming  vote.  Indeed,  many  who  at  the  last  General  Con- 
ference had  been  inclined  to  favor  these  resolutions,  after  they 
saw  the  violent  spirit  which  its  leading  advocates  exhibited 
and  finding  it  was  to  be  only  the  "entering  wedge"  of  innova- 
tion, became  alarmed  and  withdrew  their  names  and  influ- 
ence from  the  measure. 

Between  1824  and  1828,  the  spirit  of  innovation  was  strongly 
and  dangerously  exhibited  in  claiming  the  right  of  the  laity  to 
an  equal  representation  with  the  traveling  preachers  in  the 
Annual  and  General  Conferences.  A  periodical  styled  the 
Wesleyan  Repository,  was  started  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  avowedly 
to  agitate  this  subject,  which  soon  became  bitterly  personal. 
The  contributors  were  mostly  anonymous,  and  the  course  pur- 
sued became  so  unpopular  that  its  publication  was  discontinued. 
Shortly  afterwards  another  originated  in  Baltimore,  styled  the 
Mutual  Rights,  advocating  the  same  principles,  which  had  the 
sanction  and  influence  of  a  few  traveling  preachers  and  of 
several  well-known  local  preachers,  as  well  as  a  good  many 
laymen.  But,  as  in  all  such  revolutionary  associations,  the  more 
violent  and  factious  spirits  soon  took  the  lead,  drawing  after 
them  those  not  so  fully  imbued  with  their  temper.  It  cul- 
minated in  the  expulsion  of  a  notorious  local  preacher,  Alexan- 
der McCane,  who  had  published  an  outrageous  attack  upon  the 
government  of  the  Church,  implicating  and  slandering  its 
founder  and  fathers.  Other  expulsions  and  withdrawals  fol- 
lowed. A  society  of  "Associated  Reformers"  and  "Union 
Societies"  were  formed,  and  a  convention  was  held  in  Baltimore 
in  1827,  constituted  of  preachers  and  laymen.  Thus  the  line 


334  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

between  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  episcopal  form  of  our  Church 
government  was  distinctly  drawn;  and,  a  memorial  having  been 
presented  from  this  convention  to  the  General  Conference  of 
1828,  brought  up  the  subject.  Several  members  of  the  con- 
vention, who.  had  been  honored  and  useful  traveling  ministers, 
attended  the  Conference  who  were  invited  to  seats  and  re- 
ceived appointments  to  preach. 

The  chairman  of  the  committee  to  whom  the  memorial  was 
referred,  Dr.  John  Emory,  brought  in  the  report,  which  was 
read  amid  profound  silence.  It  was  such  a  document  as  few 
could  write,  exhibiting  a  thorough  comprehension  of  the  whole 
question,  set  forth  in  the  simplest  language  and  in  the  clearest 
and  most  convincing  manner.  The  points  were  distinctly  made 
and  argued  fairly,  logically,  and  in  a  conciliatory  spirit. 
The  writer  watched  the  countenances  of  the  Rev.  Asa  Shinn 
and  his  confrere,  the  Rev.  N.  Snethen,  who  represented 
the  convention,  during  the  reading  of  this  report,  and  thought 
then,  as  he  does  now,  that  they  appreciated  it  and  were  con- 
vinced by  its  unanswerable  arguments.  But,  alas!  they  had  too 
far  committed  themselves.  Dr.  Bangs  deserves  the  thanks  of 
the  whole  Methodist  Episcopal  family  for  inserting  it  in  full  in 
his  valuable  "History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 
The  moment  the  reading  of  it  was  concluded,  Mr.  Shinn  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  proposed  that  five  thousand  copies  be  printed. 
Of  course  the  report  was  adopted  by  a  vote  nearly  or  quite  unan- 
imous; and  as  it  provided,  upon  reasonable  terms,  for  the  return 
to  the  bosom  of  the  Church  of  those  who  had  withdrawn,  it  was 
believed  and  hoped  by  many  that  this  would  end  any  further 
serious  alienation;  and,  although  this  very  desirable  result  was 
not  fully  realized,  yet  this  action  of  the  Conference  greatly 
tended  to  check  the  disaffection  and  diminish  the  asperity  of 
feeling  which  had  unfortunately  arisen.  The  "Appeal"  to  the 
Methodists  in  opposition  to  the  changes  proposed  by  the  re- 
formers, by  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Bond,  and  the  "Defense  of  our 
Fathers,"  by  Dr.  Emory,  were  timely  and  masterly  vindica- 
tions of  the  polity  of  the  Church  and  contributed  much  to  the 
same  end.  May  we  not  hope  that  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more 
than  forty  years,  when  nearly  all  those  who  took  part  in  this 
division  have  passed  away  with  the  prejudices  and  passions  of 
the  occasion,  a  reunion  may  take  place? 

Bishop  McKendree  was  a  close  observer  of  these  acts  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  when  he  found  that  these  perplexing 
and  dangerous  questions  had  been  adjusted  with  great  unanim- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  335 

ity,  he  thanked  God  and  took  courage.  He  had  suffered  much 
anxiety  and  labored  long  for  the  great  principles  involved  in 
these  controversies,  and  when  he  saw  them  settled  in  accordance 
with  his  views,  he  felt  reassured  of  the  prosperity  and  perma- 
nency of  his  beloved  Church. 

He  also  felt  a  good  deal  of  solicitude  as  to  another  delicate  and 
important  question  which  came  before  the  Conference.  It  was 
what  is  called  "the  Canada  question."  The  case  was  simply 
this:  When  our  preachers  had  extended  their  work  to  the  north- 
ern limits  of  the  United  States,  they  were  invited  into  Upper 
Canada.  They  went  and  formed  circuits  and  stations  and  were 
requested  to  continue  and  extend  their  labors.  The  question 
came  up  whether  the  bishop  had  the  right  to  appoint  preachers 
to  labor  out  of  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  inasmuch  as  the 
Church  only  claimed  to  be  "the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America,"  and  Bishop  Asbury  dis- 
claimed the  authority  to  do  so,  and  sent  none  but  volunteers, 
with  the  understanding  that  it  was  done  by  agreement  or  com- 
pact between  the  Canadian  brethren  and  our  preachers.  His 
successors  took  the  same  view  and  acted  conformably  to  it. 
But  after  a  while  it  was  found  that  our  preachers  laboring  there 
were  subjected  to  great  disabilities;  they  were  regarded  not  as 
citizens,  but  foreigners,  and  could  not  celebrate  the  rites  of 
matrimony  even  among  the  members  of  their  own  charges. 
Various  other  difficulties  grew  out  of  the  position  which  our 
preachers  and  members  occupied,  and  prejudices  naturally 
sprung  up  to  limit  the  usefulness  of  our  ministers.  Difficulties, 
too,  occurred  between  our  preachers  and  the  English  Methodist 
ministers.  A  petition  from  our  people  there,  borne  by  a  delega- 
tion from  the  Canada  Conference,  was  presented  to  this  General 
Conference,  stating  these  and  other  facts,  and  asking  to  be  set 
off  as  an  independent  body,  and  the  ordination  of  a  bishop  for 
their  work.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  and  report 
upon  the  request.  Dr.  Emory  and  others,  including  the  writer, 
were  placed  upon  the  committee,  and  reported  in  substance 
that,  as  our  relation  to  the  Canadian  brethren  was  founded  upon 
a  compact,  and  not  upon  our  right  to  organize  and  govern  a 
Church  in  Canada;  and  inasmuch  as  one  of  the  parties  to  the 
agreement  now  asked  that  the  compact  be  dissolved,  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  should  agree  to  its  dissolution,  and  consent 
that  the  Canada  Conference  organize  and  elect  its  own  bishop. 
And  further,  that  our  bishops,  or  any  one  of  them,  be  author- 


336  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ized  to  ordain  a  bishop  for  Canada  whenever  one  shall  be  elected 
and  presented  for  this  purpose. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Journal  of  the  General  Con- 
ference show  the  action  of  the  body  upon  this  subject: 

t 

MAY  17,  1828,  William  Ryerson  offered  the  following  resolutions,  viz: 
Whereas,  The  Canada  Annual  Conference,  situated  in  the  province  of 
Upper  Canada,  under  a  foreign  government,  have,  in  their  memorial, 
presented  to  this  Conference  the  difficulties  under  which  they  labor  in 
consequence  of  their  union  with  a  foreign  ecclesiastical  government  and 
setting  forth  their  desire  to  be  set  off  as  a  separate  Church  establish- 
ment; and  whereas,  this  General  Conference  disclaims  all  right  to  exercise 
ecclesiastical  .jurisdiction  under  such  circumstances  except  by  mutual 
agreement;  therefore, 

Resolved  by  the  delegates  of  the  Annual  Conferences  in  General  Conference 
Assembled 

1.  That  the  compact  existing  between  the  Canada  Annual  Conference 
and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  be,  and  hereby 
is,  dissolved  by  mutual  consent,  and  that  they  are  at  liberty  to  form  them- 
selves into  a  separate  Church  establishment. 

2.  That  our  superintendents  or  superintendent  be,  and  hereby  are,  re- 
spectively advised  and  requested  to  ordain  such  person  as  may  be  elected  by 
the  Canada  Conference  a  superintendent  for  the  Canada  connection. 

3.  That  we  do  hereby  recommend  to  our  brethren  in  Canada  to  adopt 
the  form  of  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States,  with  such  modifications  as  their  particular  relations  shall  render 
necessary. 

4.  That  we  do  hereby  express  to  our  Canada  brethren  our  sincere  desire 
that  the  most  friendly  feeling  may  exist  between  them  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 

5.  That  the  claims  of  the  Canada  Conference  on  our  Book  Concern  and 
Charter  Fund,  and  any  other  claims  they  may  suppose  they  justly  have 
shall  be  left  open  for  future  negotiation  and  adjustment  between  the  two 
Connections.  G.  R.  JONES, 

MOSES  CRUMB. 

The  question  on  the  first  resolution  was  decided  in  the  affirmative,  104 
for  and  43  aganist  it. 

The  other  four  resolutions  were,  on  motion,  referred  to  a  special  com- 
mittee, to  consist  of  five  members. 

May  21,  it  was,  on  motion,  resolved,  that  the  subject  of  the  petition 
from  the  Canada  Conference  be  resumed;  whereupon  the  resolutions,  as 
reported  by  the  last  committee  appointed  on  that  subject,  were  read. 

It  was  then  resolved  that  the  subject  shall  now  be  considered  and  acted 
on. 

Samuel  H.  Thompson  moved,  and  it  was  seconded,  that  the  resolution, 
as  reported  by  the  committee,  be  adopted.  The  question  being  taken,  it 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  337 

was  decided  in  the  affirmation,  108  voting  in  favor  of  adoption  and  22 
against  it. 

N.  Bangs  moved,  and  it  was  seconded,  that  the  following  be  referred 
to  the  consideration  of  the  same  committee: 

That,  if  the  Canada  Conference  should  be  set  off  so  as  to  become  inde- 
pendent of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  the 
General  Conference  be  recommended  to  make  such  alteration  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  as 
shall  authorize  the  Board  of  Managers  to  make  an  appropriation,  to  a 
certain  amount,  of  the  funds  of  that  institution  for  the  support  of  the 
Indian  missions  in  Upper  Canada.  And  the  motion  prevailed. 

The  principle  involved  in  this  decision  is  truly  an  important 
one. 

The  following  conclusions  seem  to  follow  from  the  action  of 
the  Conference  in  the  premises  and  the  opinions  expressed  by 
leading  members  of  the  body: 

1.  That  the  Church  cannot  rightfully  claim  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  beyond  her  territorial  limits,  except  by  consent  of 
parties. 

2.  That  therefore  she  has  not  the  right  to  ordain  a  man  for  an 
independent  or  foreign  Church. 

3.  That  the  General  Conference  can  authorize  its  bishops  to 
ordain  a  man  for  an  independent  or  foreign  Church  after  he 
shall  have  been  selected  and  presented  by  that  Church  with  the 
understanding  that  his  functions  are  to  be  limited  to  that 
Church. 

4.  That  to  "set  off"  a  Conference  as  an  independent  Church, 
and  within  its  territorial  jurisdiction  without  the  consent  of  the 
laity  as  well  as  the  preachers,  would  be  an  unjust  and  dangerous 
precedent,  except,  perchance,  for  moral  cause,  such  as  heresy, 
defection  of  morals  and  practice  after  proper  efforts  to  reclaim 
them. 

5.  That  it  is  competent  to  ordain  and  supervise  men  as  mis- 
sionaries in  any  country,  and  to  continue  to  do  so  even  after  the 
missions  shall  have  been  organized  into  Conferences,  so  long  as 
it  may  be  done  by  mutual  consent,  the  absolute  right  to  do  so 
being  another  question. 

The  writer  does  not  say  that  these  opinions  were  announced 
ipsissimis  verbis,  by  the  bishops,  Dr.  Emory,  Dr.  Bangs,  and 
others;  but  he  lays  them  down  as  his  own  deductions  from  what 
was  said  and  done,  and  is  persuaded  that  they  harmonized  in 
the  main  with  the  sentiments  of  the  bishops  and  Conference.  He 
doubts  not  they  did  with  Bishop  McKendree's.  It  will  be  seen 
that  these  views  fully  apply  to  a  Church  which,  by  its  assumed 
22 


338  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  legal  title,  is  limited  to  a  specified  territory,  as  "in  the 
United  States  of  America."  The  expediency  of  omitting  such  a 
limitation,  and  to  what  extent,  if  any,  such  a  change  of  title 
would  modify  the  deductions  stated  above  may  be  subjects  of 
reflection. 

The  Church  of  England  has  authority  coextensive  with  the 
dominions  of  the  crown,  because  it  is  "by  law  established;"  but 
it  required  the  consent  of  George  III  and  an  act  of  Parliament  to 
authorize  her  bishops  to  consecrate  Bishop  White  for  America, 
and  then  his  functions  were  expressly  inhibited  as  to  the  posses- 
sions of  Great  Birtian.  As  yet  our  country  is  free  from  a  legal- 
ized ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  May  it  ever  remain  so! 

The  bishops  having  failed  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the 
last  General  Conference  to  select  and  appoint  a  delegate  to  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  body  in  England  and  having  invited  the 
Conference  to  make  a  selection  and  carry  out  this  purpose,  the 
Conference  proceeded  to  elect  one,  and  the  Rev.  W.  Capers  was 
chosen.  Dr.  Capers  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  personnel 
washandsome  and  impressive,  his  literary  and  theological  attain- 
ments, his  refined  and  dignified  manners,  and  his  well-known 
abilities  and  earnest  devotion  to  God  and  his  Church  conspired 
to  render  him  well  adapted  to  this  responsible  office  and  vindi- 
cated his  previous  nomination  by  Bishops  McKendree  and 
Soule.1 

Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk,  who  received  the  next  highest  vote,  was  con- 
siderably his  junior,  and  consequently  less  known.  He  first 
came  conspicuously  into  notice  at  this  General  Conference,  and 
soon  attained  a  very  high  and  deserved  reputation  as  president 
of  the  Wesleyan  University,  a  scholarly  and  able  divine,  as  well 
as  a  lovely  and  liberal-hearted  man.  His  reputation  was  based 
upon  talents  of  a  very  high  order,  and  he  was  among  the  few 
who  could  rise  above  early  impressions  and  prevalent  prejudices 
and  take  an  enlarged  and  independent  view,  with  moral  courage 
to  act  upon  it.  Methodism  suffered  a  great  loss  in  his  early 
death.  But  more  of  him  hereafter. 

The  fifth  session  of  the  delegated  General  Conference  closed 
on  May  24,  1828.  It  was  a  session  remarkable  for  its  general 
harmony,  its  rapid  dispatch  of  business,  and  for  the  final  settle- 
ment of  several  important  questions  which  had  long  and  deeply 
agitated  the  Church.  No  new  member  was  added  to  the  Episco- 
pal College,  and  it  was  thought  it  was  not  necessary  and  there- 
tore  would  be  improper. 

lBishop  Roberts  agreed  to  hia  nomination  when  it  was  first  made. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  339 

The  following  brief  account  of  this  session  is  all  that  the 
Bishop  says  about  it: 

"  On  May  1,1828,  the  General  Conference  was  organized.  The 
appearance  and  spirit  of  the  members  savored  more  of  simple- 
hearted  Christians  than  of  determined  controvertists.  The 
suspended  resolutions  were  taken  up  and  the  vote  taken  without 
debate.  They  were  voted  out  in  a  peaceable  manner.  The 
memorial  from  the  local  convention  was  treated  in  a  formal  and 
respectful  manner;  upon  examination,  it  was  found  the  advo- 
cates for  changes  in  the  government  were  very  few,  not  more, 
perhaps,  than  one  in  a  hundred,  if  that.  They  were  treated  with 
lenity  and  tenderness.  From  the  conduct  of  their  representa- 
tives who  were  present,  it  was  hoped  the  breach  would  be  healed; 
but  it  turned  out  otherwise,  and  time  must  declare  the  ultimate 
result.  These  eventful  cases  having  been  disposed  of,  the  Con- 
ference concluded  in  peace.  A  few  subjects  of  interesting  im- 
portance were  introduced,  but  concluded  peaceably." 

The  General  Conference  of  1828  marked  a  historical  crisis  in 
the  Church,  and  the  preachers  and  members,  who  truly  loved 
its  old  landmarks,  felt  like  those  in  a  vessel  long  buffeted  by 
stormy  winds  and  threatening  waves  upon  a  dangerous  coast  at 
last  emerging  into  calm  and  open  waters  and  gliding  smoothly 
and  safely  beneath  a  sky  serene  under  a  gentle  and  favorable 
breeze.  Thus,  it  seemed,  our  ecclesiastical  ship  had  weathered 
the  tempest  without  serious  damage  to  hull  or  sail  and  the  glad 
passengers  looked  back  with  gratitude  and  forward  with  hope. 

The  Bishop's  narrative  proceeds: 

"From  Pittsburgh  I  came  in  a  steamboat  with  many  preach- 
ers to  Maysville.  With  their  help  I  formed  a  plan  to  visit  the 
Churches  as  far  as  Missouri  this  summer,  and  return  with  the 
Conferences  in  the  fall;  but  upon  further  consultation,  they 
judged  it  altogether  inexpedient,  if  not  impracticable,  for  me  to 
accomplish  the  undertaking.  It  was  therefore  given  up.  Broth- 
er Tydings  conducted  me  to  Lexington,  Ky.  I  attended  the 
quarterly  meeting  at  Frankfort,  and  the  Kentucky  Confer- 
ence in  Shelbyville,  October  23,  1828;  then  a  three  days'  meet- 
ing on  my  way  to  Elizabethtown,  where  Brother  Crist  met  me. 
Hitherto  I  have  had  the  company  and  help  of  friends;  have 
preached  considerably  and  hope  good  has  been  done.  We  at- 
tended a  meeting  at  Bowling  Green,  at  Fountain  Head,  a  camp 
meeting  at  Carr's,  Goose  Creek,  and  another  at  Woodward's. 
After  this,  Crist  was  taken  with  the  fever,  and  declined  going 
farther.  My  nephew.  John  McKendree,  left  his  business  and 


340  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

came  to  me  at  Smyrna  camp  meeting.  I  was  at  a  camp  meeting 
at  Douglass's,  one  near  Murfreesboro,  a  quarterly  meeting  in 
Nashville,  and  another  camp  meeting  near  Shelbyville.  Thence 
I  set  out  for  Georgia,  crossed  the  Tennessee  River  safely,  and 
reached  the  foot  of  Lookout  Mountain;  but  having  arrived  there 
sooner  than  my  friends,  who  were  to  meet  me,  expected,  I 
placed  my  nephew  at  the  wheels  to  scotch  the  carriage,  and 
undertook  to  drive  it  myself.  It  was  hard  work  for  man  and 
beast,  and  in  some  places  dangerous.  Indeed,  the  undertaking 
was  objected  to  as  dangerous  and  impracticable  by  travelers; 
but  we  surmounted  the  difficulties  without  any  serious  injury. 
After  resting  a  while,  we  began  to  descend  the  mountain,  and  met 
Brothers  Goody  and  Scales,  with  a  black  man  and  a  yoke  of 
oxen,  coming  to  take  us  up  the  mountain,  having  been  informed 
by  a  traveler  we  were  on  the  way.  We  rested  at  Brother  Ross's 
on  Friday,  saw  and  conversed  with  the  missionaries  from  Brain- 
ard,  about  fifty  miles  distant,  and  preached  on  Sunday  to  a 
small  congregation  of  Cherokees;  hope  our  labor  was  not  in 
vain.  In  the  evening  we  rode  home  with  Brother  Scales,  a  mis- 
sionary from  the  Tennessee  Conference.  Mr.  Ross  and  an  old 
Indian  were  moved  under  preaching,  for  the  first  time,  as  their 
acquaintances  said.  Tuesday  Brother  Scales  set  out  with  us 
for  the  place  where  the  chiefs  of  the  Nation  were  assembled  in 
grand  council.  We  visited  an  afflicted  native  woman  on  the 
way,  and  from  the  manner  we  were  received  I  hope  she  will 
make  a  happy  end.  We  lodged  at  the  house  of  the  Widow 
Hicks,  a  disciple  of  the  Moravian  missionary.  Next  day  we 
arrived  at  the  'Indian  National  Council;'  preached  to  them 
Thursday  night;  on  Friday,  went  to  the  missionary  station  and 
camp  ground  and  preached  to  a  large  congregation.  Saturday, 

rode  to  Mr. ,  and  established  a  school.    Here  Brother 

Gunter,  the  interpreter,  and  Turtle  Fields,  the  Indian  traveling 
preacher,  met  us.  Sunday,  we  preached  in  the  schoolhouse  to 
a  considerable  number  of  people.  Gunter  returned  to  the  Coun- 
cil, and  Turtle  Fields  went  with  us  to  Mr. ,  where  we  lodged 

that  night,  and  accompanied  us  next  day  to  Mr.  Betts's,  on  the 
Georgia  Road.  In  the  evening  the  neighbors  were  collected, 
and  we  held  meeting.  Tuesday,  we  left  our  friends  and  set  out 
for  Georgia  in  company  with  a  man,  his  wife,  and  son,  in  a 
carriage,  who  were  returning  from  a  visit  to  their  friends  in 
the  West  to  their  home  near  Athens,  Ga.  They  had  a  tea- 
kettle and  a  coffeepot,  and  we,  as  well  as  they,  had  provi- 
sions; so  we  fared  pretty  well.  Through  the  day  we  were  at 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  341 

home  in  our  carriages  and  at  night  in  taverns.  We  were  ever 
received  and  treated  kindly  in  the  Indian  Nation.  In  Athens, 
Ga.,  we  put  up  with  Brother  Asbury  Hull  and  preached  there 
the  last  Sunday  in  October,  1828;  and  the  first  Sunday  in  No- 
vember preached  at  the  Cherokee  Corner,  at  Lexington;  at- 
tended a  three  days'  meeting  at  Greensboro,  and  on  Monday  a 
brother  kindly  took  me  in  his  carriage  to  Eatonton.  I  was  un- 
well. Doctors  visited  me  in  the  evening  and  took  a  pint  of 
blood;  two  hours  afterwards  returned,  opened  the  same  orifice, 
and  took  another  pint.  Tuesday,  I  was  feeble.  Wednesday,  I 
must  needs  be  taken  in  a  carriage  to  the  meetinghouse,  to  be 
seen  at  least.  There  was  a  congregation,  and  I  commenced 
speaking,  forgot  myself  and  preached  an  hour,  a  feeling  time. 
Thursday,  I  rode  to  Brother  H.'s.  Next  day  it  rained;  rode  in 
company  with  Brother  Hodges,  to  a  quarterly  meeting  at  War- 
ren; preached  twice.  Thence  I  went  to  Milledgeville,  put  up 
with  Brother  Hodges;  preached  and  visited  considerably;  or- 
dained Brother  Olin.  Next  went  to  Sparta;  preached;  Powel- 
ton;  preached;  preached  at  Washington;  crossed  Broad  River; 
passed  through  Petersburg  to  Brother  Rembert's,  where  I 
rested  a  day  or  two.  In  the  fork  of  Broad  and  Savannah  Rivers 
there  is  a  considerable  space  without  preaching.  The  land  be- 
longs to  rich  men.  There  are  few  whites,  but  many  colored  peo- 
ple. The  gentlemen  engaged  to  support  a  single  preacher,  if 
one  could  be  spared.  From  Rembert's  we  crossed  the  Savannah 
at  his  ferry,  his  carriage  and  family  going  with  us  about  eight 
miles  to  a  meetinghouse,  where  I  preached,  ordained  a  brother, 

and  lodged  with  Brother .      Next  day  I  traveled,  and 

preached  in town;  stayed  all  night.    Thence  to  Mount 

Ariel ;  rested  Saturday,  preached  Sunday.  Recrossed  the  Savan- 
nah and  proceeded  on  to  Augusta,  Ga. ;  attended  their  quarterly 
meeting.  Stayed  over  the  second  Sunday,  including  Christmas; 
preached  and  visited  considerably.  Left  Augusta  December 
27;  Saturday,  got  to  Brother  Wade's.  Here  Brother  Hill  met 
us  and  continued  to  Conference.  Sunday  I  preached  to  a  large 
congregation;  an  impressive  time." 

Among  the  names  mentioned  in  the  above  extract  of  the 
Bishop's  Journal  which  deserve  more  than  a  passing  notice  is 
that  of  one  who  attained  a  high  and  well-merited  reputation  for 
extraordinary  talents,  ability  as  a  preacher,  ripe  scholarship, 
and  usefulness  as  an  educator.  The  Bishop  notes  the  fact  that 
at  Milledgeville,  Ga.,  November  20, 1828,  he  "ordained  Brother 
Olin/'  This  was  the  Rev.  Stephen  Olin,  at  that  time  and  for  six 


342  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

years  subsequently  professor  of  ethics  and  belles-lettres  in  Frank- 
lin College,  Athens,  Ga. 

Dr.  Olin  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  1797;  graduated  at 
Middlebury  College,  1820,  with  constitution  shattered  and 
ruined  by  excessive  study  in  his  senior  year;  went  to  South 
Carolina  for  his  health;  taught  an  academy  in  Abbeville  District 
— Mount  Ariel,  now  Cokesbury;  was  converted;  became  a 
Methodist  preacher  in  1822.  In  1823,  he  was  appointed  pro- 
fessor in  Middlebury  College,  but  declined  it  because  he  would 
not  become  a  Congregationalist.  In  1824  he  was  admitted 
into  the  South  Carolina  Conference  and  stationed  in  Charles- 
ton; but  after  six  months'  efficient  labor  his  health  failed,  and 
he  was  never  afterwards  able  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  pas- 
torate in  the  regular  ministry.  In  1826,  he  was  elected  profes- 
sor of  ethics  and  belles-lettres  in  Franklin  College,  Athens,  Ga. 
— i.  e.,  the  University  of  Georgia.  In  1828,  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Bostick,  of  Milledgeville.  In  1833,  he  resigned  his 
professorship  at  Franklin  College,  and  in  1834  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  the  presidency  of  Randloph-Macon  College,  Vir- 
ginia, with  L.  C.  Garland,  Edward  D.  Sims,  and  Professor  Dun- 
can as  associates  in  the  faculty.  His  health  failing,  he  sailed  for 
Havre  in  1837,  and  traveled  extensively  through  Europe, 
Egypt,  and  the  Holy  Land.  He  lost  his  wife  at  Naples,  in  1839. 
In  1840,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  succeeded  Dr. 
Fisk  as  President  of  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Conn. 
In  1846,  he  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance, 
in  London,  and  in  1851,  closed  his  useful  and  eventful  life  by 
a  calm  and  triumphant  death. 

Dr  Olin  was  gigantic  in  stature,  mind,  and  heart;  a  great 
sufferer  from  nervous  prostration;  a  profound  thinker,  a  clear 
and  elegant  writer,  and  unsurpassed  as  a  preacher.  It  is  doubt- 
ful whether  Methodism  in  America  has  ever  produced  a  greater 
mind.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of  1844, 
when  the  separation  of  the  Church  occurred  and  expressed  the 
conviction  that  it  was  inevitable,  under  the  circumstances; 
and  perhaps  few  members  of  that  body  deplored  the  necessity 
more  truly  and  deeply  than  did  he.  Indeed,  such  was  his  men- 
tal agony  on  that  occasion  that  he  was  compelled  to  leave  the 
General  Conference  before  it  closed.  He  was  one  of  the  few 
truly  great  and  good  men  with  whom  it  has  been  permitted  us  to 
become  acquainted.  We  thought  then  he  should  have  imitated 
the  example  of  Bishop  Soule  in  vindicating  his  claim  to  the 
highest  moral  courage;  but  he  did  not  think  so;  and  we  have 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  343 

long  since  concluded  to  let  him  judge  for  himself  and  to  love  and 
respect  most  highly  his  precious  memory. 

When,  in  1834,  he  became  president  of  Randolph-Macon 
College,  Virginia,  he  was  associated  in  the  faculty  with  Langdon 
C.  Garland,  Edward  Drumgoole  Sims,  and  Professor  Duncan — 
each  of  them  singularly  adapted  to  the  responsible  task  of  in- 
structing and  training  his  charge  to  the  highest  intellectural  and 
moral  standard  of  education.  Professor  Garland  succeeded  Dr. 
Olin  as  president  of  Randolph-Macon  College,  and  afterwards 
became  president  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  and,  upon  the 
destruction  by  fire  of  its  buildings  by  Federal  soldiers  during 
the  late  war,  accepted  the  professorship  of  physics  and  astrono- 
my in  the  University  of  Mississippi,  at  Oxford,  which  he  now 
occupies;  in  all  of  which  places  and  positions  he  has  deservedly 
gained  the  highest  esteem  as  a  profound  scholar  and  superior 
instructor,  as  well  as  an  earnest  and  working  layman  of  the 
Church.  The  Rev.  Edward  D.  Sims  was  for  several  years  the 
intimate  and  beloved  friend  of  the  writer  and  his  associate  in 
the  faculty  of  Lagrange  College — then  for  some  time  a  student 
in  the  universities  of  Germany.  Upon  his  return  to  the  United 
States,  he  became  a  professor  in  Randolph-Macon  College,  and 
afterwards  in  the  University  of  Alabama,  where  he  suddenly 
closed  his  life,  regretted  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him  as 
a  man  of  rare  purity,  learning,  and  amiability.  Professor  Dun- 
can, the  veteran  professor  of  ancient  languages,  has  left  his  im- 
press upon  hundreds  as  a  thorough  and  successful  teacher  of 
ancient  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  and  bequeathed  to  the  re- 
juvenated college  a  son  who  worthily  fills  the  position  once  held 
by  Dr.  Olin. 


•  CHAPTER  XXI 


McKendree  at  Augusta — Savannah — Preaches  to  whites  and  blacks — 
Conference  at  Charleston — Bishop  Roberts  absent — Not  able  to  preside 
— Returns  to  Lynchburg  to  the  Virginia  Conference — To  the  Baltimore 
and  Philadelphia  Conferences — Thence  through  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
and  Kentucky  to  Tennessee — Douglass's  Camp  Meeting — His  voice — 
Conversion  of  a  mute — Bishop  George's  Death — Sketch — The  Bishop's 
homes  at  Nashville,  J.  T.  Elliston's  and  H.  R.  W.  Hill's — Down  the 
Mississippi  River — The  Colonel — His  Plan — Liberia. 

WE  resume  the  Bishop's  Journal: 

"Thursday,  January  1,1829. — Preached  to  a  number  of  the 
colored  people,  in  presence  of  the  whole  family,  in  an  apartment 
of  the  dwelling  house.  The  Lord  was  present. 

"January  2. — We  rose  early  to  start  for  Savannah  and  were 
called  to  prayer  and  breakfast  by  candlelight,  but  I  was  taken  so 
sick  I  was  obliged  to  lie  down.  I  lay  until  8  A.M.,  and  set  out 
without  eating  anything.  Brother  Wade  took  me  fifteen  miles 
in  a  remarkably  easy  carriage.  We  accomplished  our  journey  of 
thirty-odd  miles  before  sunset  and  reached  Savannah  next  day. 
Here  we  stayed  and  preached  two  Sabbaths;  through  the  week 
visited  the  brethren,  met  the  society,  and  received  visits.  The 
Presbyterians  seem  disposed  to  be  friendly  with  us.  Next  week 
we  left  Savannah.  Brother  Hill  accompanied  us,  by  the  Sisters' 
Ferry,  through  the  Black  Swamp  Circuit,  to  Brother  Lowery's. 
In  addition  to  his  own,  he  manages  an  estate  of  a  wealthy  planter 
who  invites  preaching  among  his  colored  people.  There  are  sev- 
eral such  men  in  this  neighborhood.  They  wish  their  slaves  to 
be  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion.  On  Sunday  we  preached 
to  a  large  congregation  of  white  and  colored  people.  Brother 
Hill  gave  them  a  night  meeting.  It  is  hoped  our  visit  is  not  in 
vain.  The  way  is  opening  to  have  the  gospel  preached  to  the 
slaves. 

"We  arrived  safely  in  Charleston  on  the  twentieth  and  found 
the  preachers,  their  families,  and  our  brethren  in  health.  We 
now  had  a  few  days  to  rest  and  to  visit  the  societies  and  friends. 
This  is  an  agreeable  and  profitable  part  of  a  minister's  duty. 

"Bishop  Roberts  was  to  have  attended  the  Conference;  we 
waited  in  expectation.  On  January  28,  the  Conference  began 
according  to  appointment ;  Bishop  Roberts  not  arrived . ' '  After- 
wards he  adds:  "He  did  not  come  at  all." 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  345 

In  reference  to  this  Conference  and  his  ability  to  preside,  he 
says: 

"Being  the  only  bishop  present,  the  business  necessarily  de- 
volved on  me.  Having  received  no  information  from  either  of 
my  colleagues  as  to  their  absence,  it  seemed  providential  that  I 
had  come.  I  commenced  with  considerable  confidence  in  my 
ability  to  perform  the  duties,  but  the  experience  of  the  first  day 
convinced  me  of  my  utter  inability  to  bear  the  labors  of  my 
office." 

This  no  doubt  greatly  mortified  him,  as  it  evinced  that  his 
days  of  extensive  travel  and  active  usefulness  were  nearly  over. 
No  one  who  has  not  been  thus  tried  knows  the  feeling  of  sadness 
incident  to  such  a  state.  No  man  ever  felt  more  acutely  this 
sensation  than  the  good  old  Bishop.  But  he  was  not  the  man  to 
succumb  and  soon  resumed  his  course.  Quitting  Charleston,  he 
goes  through  Georgetown,  Fayetteville,  Raleigh — attending  the 
North  Carolina  Conference — thence  to  Petersburg,  Richmond, 
and  Lynchburg.  Here  he  meets  the  Virginia  Conference. 
Thence  he  goes  back  to  Richmond,  and  proceeds  to  Ports- 
mouth and  Norfolk,  and  from  thence  to  Baltimore  on  March  14, 
1829.  And  after  attending  the  Baltimore  Conference,  he  goes 
through  Philadelphia,  to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  there  attends  the 
Philadelphia  Conference.  Back  again  he  travels  to  Baltimore, 
and  goes  thence  to  Washington  City,  Hagerstown,  Sharpsburg, 
and  Uniontown,  making  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  in  four 
days,  to  Barnesville,  Ohio,  July  25.  And  after  attending  the 
Ohio  Conference  at  Urbana,  and  the  Kentucky  Conference  at 
Lexington,  he  gets  back  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  spends  the 
winter  of  1829-30  there. 

The  Bishop  confessed  that  the  anxiety  and  labors  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  fatigued  him,  and  that  his  health  was  not  so 
good  at  its  close;  and  yet  we  have  followed  him  through  an  un- 
ceasing tour  of  several  thousand  miles,  everywhere  preaching 
and  trying  in  every  possible  way  to  do  good.  His  power  of 
endurance  and  his  moral  courage  were  wonderful. 

The  Bishop  alludes  to  his  having  been  at  a  number  of  quarter- 
ly and  camp  meetings  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1828  in 
Tennessee.  Several  of  them  were  in  the  Nashville  District,  of 
which  the  writer  was  then  the  presiding  elder.  At  Douglass's 
Camp  Meeting  there  was  an  immense  concourse,  and  the  Bishop 
preached  for  me  at  eleven  o'clock,  September  7,  to  at  least  six 
thousand  people;  and,  although  his  voice  seemed  feeble,  yet 
was  it  so  distinct  and  penetrating  and  so  perfectly  silent  was  the 


346  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

vast  crowd  that  after  the  first  five  minutes  he  could  he  heard  by 
all.  In  order  to  regulate  his  voice  properly,  he  requested  me  to 
take  my  position  near  the  outskirts  of  the  assembly,  and,  by 
signals,  let  him  know  whether  he  could  be  heard;  and  after  he 
understood  that  he  spoke  loud  enough,  he  continued  in  the  same 
key  to  the  close.  He  was  in  his  proper  element  and  preached 
with  great  logical  clearness  and  spiritual  power. 

The  lesson  was  a  valuable  one  to  public  speakers,  teaching 
that  the  distance  at  which  the  voice  can  be  distinctly  heard  de- 
pends not  so  much  upon  the  volume  of  sound  as  upon  distinct- 
ness of  articulation.  Preachers  often  bring  on  a  premature  ruin 
of  voice  and  health  by  not  practicing  upon  this  lesson,  and  some 
of  them  commit  a  species  of  suicide.  If  Bishop  McKendree  had 
not  learned  this  lesson,  his  usefulness,  and  perhaps  his  life, 
would  have  terminated  twenty  years  before  he  died. 

An  incident  occurred  at  this  camp  meeting  which  interested 
him  greatly.  While  he  was  preaching  the  sermon  alluded  to, 
there  were  sitting  immediately  before  him  and  near  the  pulpit 
an  intelligent  and  worthy  family  by  the  name  of  Tullis.  The 
father  and  mother  were  members  of  the  Church,  but  one  of  the 
daughters  was  deaf  and  dumb.  The  family  being  in  good  cir- 
cumstances, she  had  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  of  education 
possible;  had  a  sprightly  mind  and  a  fine  person,  but  she  was  not 
pious.  Her  attention  was  soon  riveted  on  the  venerable  preach- 
er, and  she  seemed  to  understand  his  speaking  face  and  signifi- 
cant gestures.  She  became  absorbed  in  thought  and  bathed  in 
tears,  and  when  mourners  were  invited  she  arose  and  knelt. 
The  Bishop,  with  her  parents  and  friends,  gathered  around  her 
and  offered  prayers  for  her  conversion,  and  after  an  apparently 
severe  mental  struggle,  in  which  penitence  and  prayer  were  clear- 
ly indicated  by  her  tears,  her  countenance,  and  her  actions,  she 
suddenly  arose,  and,  with  a  face  radiant  with  joy,  embraced  her 
parents  and  the  venerable  preacher.  She  was  converted. 

Nor  is  this  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  the  writer  has  known. 

The  Bishop  attended  several,  other  camp  and  quarterly  meet- 
ings within  the  Nashville  District  during  this  year,  at  all  of 
which,  as  well  as  at  the  writer's  own  home,  he  enjoyed  the 
pleasure  of  his  society;  and  he  can  never  cease  to  feel  toward 
him  and  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  his  father  in  the  gospel,  the  pro- 
foundest  respect  and  love. 

The  death  of  Bishop  George  occurred  in  this  year.  He  was 
born  in  Lancaster  County,  Va.,  1767  or  1768;  became  a  traveling 
preacher  in  1790;  was  ordained  bishop  in  1816,  and  died  August 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  347 

23, 1828,  at  Staunton,  Va.  Having  traveled  two  or  three  years 
in  the  Virginia  Conference,  at  the  call  of  Bishop  Asbury  for 
volunteers  for  South  Carolina  he  went  there  and  labored  in 
that  State  and  Georgia  four  or  five  years.  Finding  his  health 
much  impaired  by  incessant  labor  and  the  sickliness  of  the 
climate,  he  returned  to  Virginia  and  located,  believing  he  could 
not  render  efficient  service  and  feeling  unwilling  to  become  a 
burden  on  the  Conference.  Thus  thrown  out  into  the  world 
sick,  poor,  and  incapacitated  for  ordinary  worldly  business  by  his 
past  exclusive  devotion  to  his  vocation,  he  "resorted  again  to 
his  old  alternative,  school  keeping."  Having  despaired  of  being 
able  to  continue  in  the  itinerant  ministry,  he  married  a  lady  of 
"piety,  industry,  sympathy,  and  sincere  affection,"  who  died  in 
1816,  leaving  four  children,  one  of  them  only  a  few  weeks 
old.  He  never  married  again.  The  field  of  his  labors  as  a  bishop 
required  him  to  travel  into  Canada  and  through  the  United 
States,  and  during  the  twelve  years  of  his  episcopate  he  faith- 
fully attempted  to  perform  all  his  arduous  duties. 

Parting  with  Bishop  Hedding  at  the  close  of  the  New  York 
Conference,  he  started  for  Jonesboro,  Tenn.,  to  hold  the  Holston 
Conference;  and,  having  been  taken  violently  ill  of  dysentery  at 
Staunton,  Va.,  after  a  few  days  of  great  suffering  he  breathed 
his  last.  He  died  not  only  resigned,  but  willingly  and  joyously, 
exclaiming:  "Glory  to  God!" 

As  a  Christian,  he  was  devout  and  holy;  a  man  of  much  prayer 
and  strong  religious  feelings;  as  a  preacher,  he  excelled  in 
pathos.  He  preached  "in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
with  power. "  What  he  felt  deeply  he  spoke  with  great  simplic- 
ity and  sensibility.  Having  heard  him  repeatedly,  the  writer 
can  attest  that  he  never  heard  anyone  who  surpassed  him  as  a 
pathetic  preacher.  At  our  first  visit  to  a  Conference  in  1817, 
held  in  Franklin,  Tenn.,  he  and  Bishop  Roberts  attended,  and 
he  preached  at  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday,  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  His  text  was  1  John  v.  4,  "This  is  the  victory,"  etc.; 
and  he  had  scarcely  got  through  his  exordium  before  he  and  all 
his  hearers  were  in  tears.  It  was  indeed  a  "pathetic,  powerful, 
and  usefu)"  sermon.  His  appearance,  voice,  and  manner,  as 
well  as  his  matter,  conspired  to  excite  and  overpower  the  audi- 
ence. He  was  a  weeping  prophet.  He  wept,  and  everybody 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  preacher.  His  way  of  removing  the 
tears  which  blinded  his  small  and  deeply  seated  eyes,  by  run- 
ning his  finger  behind  his  spectacles  and  uttering  in  soft  and 
subdued  tones,  "Glory!"  was  peculiar  and  impressive.  He  was 


348  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

low  of  stature,  with  a  broad  chest,  a  short  neck,  large  head, 
long,  flowing  hair  turned  back;  his  face  broad  and  short;  his 
eyes  twinkling  like  diamonds  beneath  an  expansive  forehead 
and  heavy,  overhanging  brow. 

In  private,  as  in  public,  he  avoided  ostentation,  and  was 
simple  and  affectionate  in  private  intercourse.  He  detested  an 
assumed  dignity,  and  won  the  respect  and  love  of  all  with  whom 
he  had  intercourse  by  his  urbanity  and  unstudied  dignity.  He 
was  not  a  learned  man;  and  his  early  literary  opportunities  had 
most  probably  been  confined  to  "the  old-field  schools"  of 
Virginia;  but  he  had  traveled  much,  mingled  in  the  best  so- 
ciety among  our  people  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  spoke 
correctly  and  fluently.  He  had  no  fondness  for  office  or  noto- 
riety, but  was  humble  and  strictly  conscientious. 

As  a  bishop,  while  he  loved  the  Church  and  strove  to  do  his 
whole  duty,  yet  his  want  of  method  and  inattention  to  the  rules 
of  order  occasionally  involved  himself  and  the  Conference  in 
confusion.  He  wanted  the  administrative  talent  of  the  senior 
bishop.  The  latter  had  an  analytical  and  remarkably  logical 
cast  of  mind.  His  office  was  to  instruct  and  to  legislate  and  to 
govern.  The  former,  endowned  with  stronger  feeling  and  more 
sympathy,  carried  by  storm  the  citadel  of  the  heart.  They  were 
both  rare  men,  but  differed  in  the  spheres  in  which  they  moved 
and  shone.  McKendree,  like  Asbury,  could  read  character, 
foresee  the  results  of  movements,  and  adopt  means  to  frustrate 
or  advance  them  with  remarkable  astuteness  and  success. 
George,  not  so  prescient  nor  such  a  tactician,  and  more  timid, 
was  easily  affected  by  his  views  of  the  apparent  and  present. 
Both  were  equally  honest,  and  worked  for  the  same  ends.  Bish- 
op McKendree  could  have  made  a  prime  minister,  or  the  king  of 
a  nation,  and  would  have  made  it  greater  and  happier.  Bishop 
George  was  adapted  to  the  rostrum  of  a  popular  assembly  and 
might  have  been  a  leader  in  a  time  of  excitement.  But  they 
were  holy  men  and  Christ's  ministers;  and  therefore,  while  Mc- 
Kendree assisted  to  make  a  great  Church  out  of  a  little  one  by 
his  administrative  ability,  George  contributed  to  the  same  end 
by  his  impassioned  pulpit  eloquence.  Bishop  McKendree's 
throne  was  the  chair  in  Conference  and  council;  Bishop  George's 
throne  was  the  pulpit.  McKendree  taught,  George  moved  his 
audience.  Both  excelled  in  their  spheres;  both  were  necessary, 
and  God  gave  both  to  the  Church. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  here  that  each  of  these  bishops  was  awak- 
ened and  converted  under  the  preaching  of  that  great  revivalist, 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  349 

John  Easter,  and  were  inducted  into  the  ministry  by  Philip  Cox. 
How  many  others  became  preachers  and  members  of  the  Church 
through  the  labors  of  Mr.  Easter  eternity  alone  will  reveal.  Let 
Methodists,  and  expecially  Methodist  preachers,  beware  how 
they  depreciate  revivals;  for  if,  in  our  pride  of  higher  intellec- 
tual attainments  and  our  boast  of  colleges  and  universities,  our 
graduates  and  doctors  of  divinity,  we  undervalue  and  speak  of 
them  as  merely  sensational  and  of  transient  influence,  may  not 
God  curse  us  with  spiritual  barrenness  and  leave  us  like  pot- 
sherds to  strive  with  potsherds  without  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Ghost? 

During  the  winter  of  1829-30,  Bishop  McKendree  passed  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  in  Nashville  and  its  immediate  vicinity. 
The  residences  of  H.  R.  W.  Hill  and  J.  T.  Elliston,  where  he  had 
homes  and  where  every  comfort  and  kindness  which  in  his 
debility  and  sickness  he  could  need,  were  his  principal  places  of 
staying. 

Both  of  these  gentlemen  deserve  a  passing  notice.  Mr.  Hill 
was  converted  at  Conference  in  Franklin,  Tenn.,  in  1817.  His 
mother  was  a  devout  Methodist  of  the  old  Virginia  type;  and, 
at  the  time  of  his  conversion,  he  was  a  clerk  in  a  store.  His 
business  capacity  was  remarkable,  and  he  accumulated  a  fortune 
by  merchandising  in  Nashville  and  as  a  commission  merchant 
in  New  Orleans.  A  crisis  in  monetary  matters  occurring,  his 
house  in  New  Orleans  failed  to  the  amount  of  about  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  owing  to  his  having  entered  into  acceptances 
for  planters  who  did  not  meet  their  engagements.  Upon  his 
return  to  his  family  shortly  after  his  failure,  he  said  to  the  writ- 
er: "I  have  lost  everything,  and  am  in  debt  three  millions;  all 
is  gone  except  my  character  and  what  I  have  given  away."  He 
lived,  however,  to  pay  his  debts,  and  died  a  wealthy  man;  but, 
notwithstanding  his  liberality,  his  cares  injured  his  piety.  He 
never  stinted  his  benevolence.  Not  only  did  he  afford  Bishop 
McKendree  a  home,  but  when  Bishop  Soule  came  to  the  South, 
he  gave  him  a  comfortable  house  and  valuable  little  farm  near 
Franklin,  worth  from  three  to  five  thousand  dollars.  He  liber- 
•ally  assisted  in  erecting  an  excellent  house  in  Nashville  for  the 
occupancy  of  a  bishop,  known  still  as  the  Bishop's  house,  in 
which  Bishop  Soule  resided  awhile  and  where  a  worthy  col- 
league now  lives.  In  New  Orleans  he  was  equally  generous, 
having,  under  the  leadership  of  that  princely  layman,  Hon. 
Edmund  McGehee,  of  Woodville,  Miss.,  given  ten  thousand 


350  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

dollars  at  one  time  toward  the  erection  of  the  McGehee 
Church. 

His  wife  was  a  sincere  Christian  lady,  plain  and  devout.  Both 
have  passed  from  earth. 

Joseph  T.  Elliston  was  also  a  man  of  fine  business  talent,  and 
by  foresight,  tact,  and  economy  amassed  a  fortune,  but  never 
speculated  or  sought  wealth  by  hazardous  means.  He  was  a 
plain,  unpretending  man,  of  great  prudence  and  common  sense; 
happy  in  his  domestic  and  social  relations,  and  always  at  work 
as  trustee  or  steward  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church.  He  was 
the  person  to  whom,  principally,  is  due  the  honor  of  erecting 
the  McKendree  Church  in  Nashville,  as  well  as  the  parsonage 
and  Bishop's  house. 

His  excellent  wife  was  in  every  respect  a  worthy  helpmeet 
to  her  devoted  and  noble-hearted  husband.  They,  too,  have 
gone  to  rest. 

Is  it  not  fit  that  an  old  friend,  who  has  often  enjoyed  the  hos- 
pitality of  these  laymen,  should  chronicle  their  names  in  con- 
nection with  the  life  of  one  who  so  often  enjoyed  their  hospi- 
tality? For,  although  not  preachers,  they  were  truly  their 
friends  and  comforters.  And  may  we  not  trust  that  He  who 
rewards  "a  cup  of  water"  given  to  a  disciple  will  not  fail  to 
reward  those  who  give  them  food  and  shelter,  and,  like  minis- 
tering angels,  watch  over  them  in  age  and  affliction?  Without 
such  friends,  what  must  have  been  the  fate  of  many  an  old  and 
feeble  man  whose  youth  and  strength  have  been  spent  in 
preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ !  Such  deserve  to  be 
classed  with  the  house  of  Stephanas,  who  "addicted  themselves 
to  the  ministry  of  the  saints." 

In  their  quadrennial  address  to  the  late  General  Conference, 
the  bishops  made  no  suggestion  as  to  the  necessity  of  increasing 
their  number;  but  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  made  by  the  committee, 
through  S.  G.  Roszel,  as  to  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  doing 
so,  they  said  that  if  any  more  Conferences  should  be  made,  it 
would  certainly  be  necessary  to  strengthen  the  episcopacy; 
whether  it  was  necessary  to  elect  any  more  unless  this  should  be 
done,  the  Conference  could  judge.  The  four  efficient  superin- 
tendents had  evidently  enough  to  do.  The  death  of  Bishop 
George  had  reduced  them  to  three,  and  consequently  their 
tasks  were  onerous.  To  contribute  what  he  could  to  assist  his 
colleagues,  Bishop  McKendree  resolved  to  visit  the  societies 
and  to  attend  as  many  Conferences  as  his  health  would  allow. 

In  conformity  with  this  purpose,  he  resolved  to  go  South 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  351 

during  the  winter,  and  embarked  on  a  steamboat  at  Nashville. 
From  a  letter  to  J.  B.  Finley,  dated  January  29,  1830,  we  learn 
that  he  was  then  "on  the  steamboat  Nashville,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Cumberland  River,  to  visit  the  Churches  as  low  down  as 
New  Orleans,  and  as  extensively  as  possible;"  that  he  expected 
to  return  in  March;  and  that  as  soon  as  the  roads  would  allow, 
and  he  could  procure  suitable  assistance,  he  would  visit  the 
Churches  in  the  West;  that  he  had  written  to  his  old  friend, 
Abbott  Godard,  to  induce  him  to  go  with  him  to  Illinois  upon 
a  visit  to  his  old  friends,  and  he  concluded  it  by  sending  his  love 
to  Brother  Spencer,  Brother  Smith's  family,  his  Newport  friends, 
and  especially  to  his  beloved  Brother  Holliday.  It  appears  that 
he  stopped  at  Natchez,  with  Dr.  Henry  Tooley,  and  spent  some 
time  there,  preaching  and  paying  pastoral  visits  and  enjoying 
the  company  of  W.  Winans,  B.  M.  Drake,  Thomas  Clinton,  B. 
Pipkin,  and  other  valued  and  beloved  friends.  The  greater  part 
of  his  time  was  spent  in  New  Orleans,  where  the  necessities  of 
the  Church  required  his  influence  and  counsels.  He  also  paid 
a  visit  to  Bayou  Sara,  and  to  Woodville,  Miss.,  where,  in  the 
family  of  his  greatly  respected  friend  and  brother,  Judge  Edward 
McGehee,  he  was  always  a  most  welcome  and  honored  guest. 
Thus  passed  away  the  winter. 

Upon  this  steamboat  trip  to  New  Orleans,  he  had  the  com- 
pany of  A.  L.  P.  Green,  then  associated  with  James  Gwin  in  the 
Nashville  Station.  The  well-known  genial  temper  and  social 
qualities  of  Brother  Green  rendered  him  always  a  most  de- 
sirable companion  to  the  Bishop.  He  had  a  high  esteem  and 
reverential  affection  for  Bishop  McKendree,  and  to  the  close  of 
the  good  man's  life  was  his  attentive,  tender,  and  trusted  friend. 
It  was  on  this  trip  to  New  Orleans  that  the  incidents  occurred 
which  are  narrated  in  Dr.  Green's  admirable  sketch  of  the  Bishop 
in  the  "Biographical  Sketches  of  Itinerant  Ministers,"  edited 
by  Dr.  Summers,  in  1858.  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned  for  making 
the  following  extracts  from  this  work,  which  ought  to  be  circu- 
lated throughout  the  whole  Methodist  community.  Dr.  Green 
says: 

I  think,  in  the  year  1830,  while  descending  the  Mississippi  on  a  large 
steamer  crowded  with  passengers,  the  weather  being  cold,  we  were  com- 
pelled to  live  in  close  community  about  the  stove.  The  company  was  a 
mixed  one — old  and  young,  ladies  and  gentlemen — so  that  various  sub- 
jects of  conversation  were  up. from  time  to  time,  until  an  old  lawyer  and 
politician,  who  no  doubt  mistook  the  Bishop's  character  in  part  (thinking 
fhat  the  Church  had  made  him  bishop  on  account  of  his  goodness  and 


352  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

lamblike  nature,  never  once  supposing  there  was  any  of  the  lion  in  him), 
concluded,  no  doubt,  that  he  would  make  some  capital  by  a  controversy 
with  him  on  Church  government.  A  greater  mistake  no  poor  man  ever 
made,  for  the  Bishop  would  have  been  his  equal  on  any  subject;  and  upon 
Church  government  he  was  too  strong  for  anyone,  for  he  had  given  to  that 
subject  extraordinary  attention.  Having  been  a  little  troubled  in  that 
direction  in  his  youth,  he  had  threshed,  fanned,  and  sifted  it  with  his 
powerful  intellect  for  years,  until  there  was  not  a  comma,  a  crossed  t  or  a 
dotted  t  in  the  whole  empire  of  Church  government  which  he  did  not  have 
by  heart  and  at  his  fingers'  ends.  The  old  colonel  commenced  by  saying  to 
the  Bishop  that  he  differed  from  him  on  Church  government,  to  which  the 
Bishop  answered:  "  So,  so."  The  colonel,  finding  he  had  not  got  the  Bishop 
to  his  liking,  said  next  that  he  thought  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Church 
had  too  much  power.  The  Bishop  answered  by  saying  that  he  wished  he 
had  more  power  than  he  had,  that  he  once  had  power  enough  to  travel 
around  this  continent  in  a  year,  but  now  he  had  hardly  power  enough  to 
walk.  This  produced  a  laugh  around  the  circle,  which  was  anything  but 
comfortable  to  the  colonel;  so  at  once  he  commenced  an  argument  against 
the  government  of  the  Church  and  the  power  of  the  bishops.  Finding  that 
nothing  else  but  a  controversy  would  do  him,  the  Bishop  met  him  prompt- 
ly, with  a  force  that  evidently  overpowered  him.  The  colonel  rallied  and 
came  again  to  the  attack,  but  was  again  routed,  with  great  slaughter  of  his 
arguments.  Next  he  attempted  to  escape  without  calling  for  quarter  by 
saying  he  had  not  words  to  express  his  ideas,  or  he  would  make  it  appear 
very  different.  But  the  Bishop  had  determined  that  as  nothing  but  a  con- 
test would  do  him,  he  would  make  him  cry  out.  The  Bishop  repeated  slow- 
ly the  words  of  the  colonel:  "Words,  words,"  said  the  Bishop,  "to  express 
your  ideas!  Words,"  said  he,  "are  the  signs  of  ideas,  and  you  cannot  have 
ideas  without  signs.  Now,  friend,"  said  he,  "if  you  have  any  ideas  that 
you  have  not  conveyed,  you  have  received  and  retained  those  ideas  by 
a  certain  set  of  signs.  They  may  not  be  the  best  signs  for  the  purpose, 
but  do  you  use  just  such  signs  as  you  have,  and  I  will  undertake  to 
understand  them.  Now,"  said  he,  "use  your  signs,"  and  dropped  his 
head.  All  sat  in  perfect  silence  for  half  a  minute,  waiting  for  the  signs  to 
be  given;  but  not  one  word  was  said.  The  Bishop  then  looked  him  fiercely 
in  the  face  and  said,  with  a  manner  of  earnestness  not  common  to  him, 
"Use  your  signs,"  and  another  pause  ensued — and  to  the  poor  colonel 
it  was  an  awful  pause — but  no  signs  were  given.  Then  said  the  Bishop: 
"Friend,  you  are  mistaken;  it  is  the  want  of  ideas."  I  felt  two  badly 
for  the  poor  colonel  to  laugh;  but  the  sympathies  of  the  circle  were  with 
the  Bishop  and  the  controversy  closed  with  a  burst  of  laughter  at  the 
colonel's  expense.  After  awhile,  when  the  Bishop  and  myself  retired  to 
the  stateroom  for  me  to  read  to  him  (which  he  requested  me  to  do  at  stated 
periods),  I  said  to  him:  "You  treated  that  gentleman  too  badly."  He  an- 
swered by  saying:  "Let  him  let  me  alone." 

From  New  Orleans  he  wrote  to  the  Book  Agents  at  New  York: 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  353 

I  intend  to  stay  here  some  ten  or  twelve  days,  then  take  steamboat  for 
Bayou  Sara,  then  land  and  visit  the  Churches  as  extensively  as  I  can,  to 
Natchez,  then  go  by  steamboat  to  Nashville  by  the  last  of  March.  From 
Nashville  I  intend  to  resume  my  course  of  visiting  the  Churches,  through 
the  lower  part  of  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Illinois;  thence  return,  with  the 
Conferences,  from  the  West  across  the  mountains,  and  visit  the  Atlantic 
States  and  Conferences.  From  Philadelphia,  where  Brother  Emory  left 
me  last  spring,  I  set  out  to  visit  the  Churches  through  Virginia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  where  I  expected  to  take  up  my 
abode  for  the  winter.  I  have  attended  three  Annual  Conferences  and  ten 
or  twelve  quarterly  meetings.  I  have  seen  great  and  very  good  times  and 
rejoiced  in  the  prosperity  of  Zion.  For  want  of  a  steamboat,  I  failed  to 
attend  the  Mississippi  Conference." 

Thus  his  soul  could  plan  and  his  zeal  could  dare  to  try  and 
execute;  but  his  strength  enabled  him  to  effect  a  part  only  of- 
his  program  of  labor. 

Having  concluded  the  object  of  his  tour  to  Mississippi  and 
Louisiana,  he  returned  in  the  early  part  of  the  spring,  and  was 
at  his  brother's  on  April  20, 1830.  There  he  received  a  respect- 
ful and  affectionate  letter  from  his  old  friend  and  fellow  laborer, 
Abbott  Godard,  regretting  his  inability  to  accompany  him,  as 
requested,  on  account  of  his  poor  health.  He  then  again  called 
on  J.  B.  Crist  to  go  with  him,  who,  in  his  usual  kind  and  respect- 
ful manner,  readily  consented.  Preparations  were  soon  made, 
and  he  started  to  visit  and  preach  at  popular  meetings  and  in 
towns  through  the  West.  About  this  time  he  received  an  official 
communication  from  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  through  their  committee  (S.  Merwin,  S.  Luckey,  and 
James  L.  Phelps),  calling  his  attention  to  the  subject  of  a  mis- 
sion in  Africa  and  suggesting  Liberia  as  a  suitable  site  for  such 
an  establishment  and  promising  "the  means  for  such  mission 
or  missions."  The  writer  is  fully  aware  that  for  eighteen  years 
at  least  the  Bishop  had  been  anxiously  looking  around  for  the 
men  and  means  to  send  the  gospel  to  Africa,  and  he  received 
the  letter  with  high  gratification.  The  result  and  the  mission 
of  the  lovely  and  lamented  Melville  B.  Cox  to  that  benighted 
region  and  his  heroic  and  untimely  death  will  appear  hereafter. 
23 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Begins  his  tour  in  1830  in  feeble  health — Friends  protest — Breaks  down 
at  Jonesboro — Returns — Discont  nues  his  Diary — In  1831  starts 
again — Spends  the  winter  in  Baltimore — General  Confernece  of  1832 — 
Bishops'  Address — Action  of  the  General  Conference  as  to  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree — J.  0.  Andrew  and  John  Emory  elected  bishops — Sketches — 
Emory  as  President. 

WHEN  Bishop  McKendree  started,  in  the  spring  of  1830,  to 
accomplish  his  proposed  campaign  of  pastoral  duties,  it  was 
evident  to  others,  as  it  was  presently  to  himself,  that  he  was 
physically  unable  to  endure  the  labor  of  so  great  an  enterprise. 
He  was  no  longer  the  Jupiter  of  our  ecclesiastical  system,  the 
largest  and  brightest  in  the  episcopal  train,  and  sweeping  along 
a  vast  orbit,  but,  like  Mercury,  moving  in  a  smaller  circle, 
seldom  seen,  but  ever  near  the  sun.  Instead  of  making  the  tour 
through  the  West,  South,  and  East,  as  he  had  proposed,  he  had 
to  confine  himself  to  a  small  part  of  the  West  during  the  spring 
and  summer;  and  even  that  was  effected  in  great  pain  and  weari- 
ness. In  October,  however,  he  was  present  at  the  Kentucky 
Conference,  in  Russellville.  It  seems  that  he  had  not  yet  fully 
made  up  his  mind  to  relinquish  his  cherished  project,  and  it  re- 
quired the  earnest  and  repeated  protests  of  his  old  friends  to 
dissuade  him  from  attempting  it.  At  last,  however,  he  con- 
sented to  a  compromise.  He  was  to  cross  the  Cumberland 
Mountains,  attend  the  Holston  Conference  at  Ebenezer,  Greene 
County,  East  Tennessee,  November  4,  and  thence  travel  east, 
if  his  strength  should  allow,  across  the  Alleghenies;  but  should 
he  find  himself  greatly  exhausted,  he  agreed  to  return  from 
Ebenezer  to  Nashville.  The  tour  began.  Slowly  and  painfully 
he  journeyed  over  the  mountains,  for  about  the  sixtieth  time; 
and  before  he  reached  the  seat  of  the  Conference  he  could 
neither  get  in  nor  out  of  his  carriage  without  assistance.  Fre- 
quently he  had  to  be  carried  in  the  arms  of  others,  his  sympa- 
thizing and  faithful  traveling  companion,  J.  B.  Crist,  being  often 
constrained  to  shed  tears  over  his  precious  and  suffering  charge. 
Yet  he  complained  not,  except  occasionally  by  an  involuntary, 
half -suppressed  moan.  No  murmur  escaped  his  lips.  Upon  the 
second  day  of  the  session  he  arrived,  pale,  haggard,  and  utterly 
exhausted.  The  preachers  were  struck  with  amazement  and 
admiration,  and  gathered  around  him,  some  in  tears  and  some 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  355 

with  smiles.  He  was  confined  to  his  bed  nearly  the  whole  ses- 
sion, visiting  it  but  once  and  but  for  a  few  minutes.  But  it  still 
required  the  earnest  advice  of  his  friends  to  divert  him  from  his 
proposed  tour.  At  last  he  yielded,  and  with  tears  welling  in  his 
eyes,  said:  "  I  approve  your  judgment  and  submit." 

Sad,  sick,  and  very  feeble,  the  good  old  Bishop  began  the  re- 
turn tour  soon  after  the  close  of  the  session .  He  could  not  venture 
to  remain  there  during  the  winter,  already  setting  in.  He  was 
at  the  base  of  the  highest  mountain  range  in  the  United  States; 
and  the  long  and  severely  cold  winter  must  greatly  aggravate 
his  asthmatic  and  rheumatic  complaints.  It  was  death  to  stay 
and  little  less  to  go.  The  distance  was  nearly  four  hundred 
miles,  over  as  mountainous  and  rough  a  road  as  could  be  found. 
He  had  accomplished  nothing  by  coming,  except  to  convince 
himself  that  the  circle  of  his  future  movements  must  be  a  con- 
stantly diminishing  one,  with  constantly  increasing  pain.  Yes, 
and  he  doubtless  learned  also  that  it  is  both  duty  and  pleasure, 
"in  age  and  feebleness  extreme,"  to  be  able  to  say:  "Thy  will 
be  done!" 

Recrossing  the  Nolichucky  River  and  passing  through  Green- 
ville and  down  the  Valley  of  the  Holston  to  Knoxville,  and  thus 
on  and  over  the  mountains  and  down  to  Nashville  he  came, 
reaching  his  brother's  about  Christmas.  Who  can  imagine  what 
that  trip  cost  him,  when  motion  itself  was  wearying  and  every 
root  and  rut  and  rock  over  which  the  carriage  jolted  was  an  in- 
strument of  agony! 

The  Bishop  was  accustomed  to  keep  a  diary  for  each  year; 
some  portions  are  lost,  but  others  have  assisted  in  tracing  his 
footsteps  and  delineating  his  character.  We  have  no  such  traces 
during  this  era  of  his  sufferings,  not  a  line  from  his  own  pen. 
He  seemed  to  act  on  the  principle  that  his  bright  days  and  active 
labors  for  the  Church  should  be  scored  down  and  remembered, 
but  that  days  of  sadness  and  suffering  should  be  left  unrecorded 
and  unremembered.  The  fact  is,  from  the  spring  of  1830,  no 
regular  diary  has  been  found.  i>  !ft& 

From  his  return  home  to  the  ensuing  spring  he  remained  in 
winter  quarters,  not  venturing  to  go  far  or  taxing  his  strength  very 
much,  having  become  convinced  that  unless  he  could  get  strong- 
er, he  could  do  but  little  in  future.  Of  course  he  preached  and 
visited  in  the  neighborhoods  of  his  temporary  residences,  as  he 
had  opportunity.  This  prudent  course  revived  him  considera- 
bly, and  in  the  spring  of  1831  he  went  forth  again.  His  course  was 
through  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  passing  over  the  mountains  in  the 


356  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

fall  and  spending  the  winter  in  Baltimore,  staying  principally 
with  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Henry  Wilkins.  Throughout  this  tour 
he,  as  usual,  attended  quarterly  and  other  meetings  and  preached 
frequently. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Emory  was  received  at  this 
time: 

NEW  YORK,  April  17,  1832. 

Dear  Bishop:  Your  favor  of  the  fourteenth  instant  reached  me  last 
evening.  I  am  much  gratified  to  learn  that  you  will  visit  us  on  the  twenti- 
eth instant,  and  will  meet  you  with  a  carriage  at  the  boat. 
^  Permit  me  to  add  that  a  large  and  beautiful  new  church  of  ours,  in  a 
central  part  of  this  city,  is  to  be  opened  on  Friday  next,  twentieth  instant, 
at  4  P.M.,  the  opening  sermon  to  be  preached  by  Brother  Fisk,  of  Middle- 
town,  and  one  in  the  evening  by  Brother  Merwin.  A  joint  committee  of 
the  trustees  and  preachers  have  requested  me  to  supply  the  pulpit  on  the 
first  Sabbath  morning — viz.,  the  twenty-second  instant,  at  half-past  ten 
o'clock,  with  the  privilege  of  inviting  any  other  person  to  supply  my  place 
at  my  discretion,  and  knowing,  as  I  do,  the  great  satisfaction  it  would 
afford  to  have  your  services  on  that  occasion,  I  beg  that  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  accept  the  appointment  and  allow  me  to  have  it  announced 
(as  may  very  conveniently  be  done  on  Friday  evening)  that  you  will  preach 
there,  the  Lord  willing,  at  that  time.  A  line  from  you  by  return  of  mail 
signifying  your  assent  will  very  much  oblige  me.  Should  you  be  too  much 
fatigued  to  write  yourself,  some  friend  will  do  it  for  you  on  your  dictation. 

It  may  be  proper  to  inform  you  that  our  Missionary  Anniversary  is  to 
be  on  Friday,  the  twenty-seventh  instant,  at  5  P.M.,  and  not  on  the 
twenty-fifth. 

With  great  respect,  very  affectionately  yours,  J.  EMORY. 

In  the  latter  part  of  March,  1832,  he  passed  from  Baltimore  to 
Philadelphia  and  lodged  with  his  old  and  long-tried  friend,  Dr. 
Thomas  Sargent,  where  unremitting  and  affectionate  attention 
was  ever  shown  him  by  the  kind  and  amiable  family. 

The  General  Conference  of  1832  began  as  usual,  on  May  1, 
in  Philadelphia.  Two  hundred  and  twenty-three  delegates  had 
been  elected  by  the  twenty-three  Annual  Conferences — viz., 
New  York,  20;  New  England,  14;  Maine,  11;  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont,  11;  Oneida,  12;  Genesee,  6;  Pittsburgh,  11;  Ohio, 
15;  Illinois,  7;  Holston,  8;  Kentucky,  13;  Missouri,  3;  Tennessee, 
13;  Mississippi,  7;  Georgia,  12;  South  Carolina,  8;  Virginia,  14; 
Baltimore,  17;  Philadelphia,  18;  and  Canada,  3.  After  the 
organization  of  the  body  in  the  usual  manner,  the  bishops  pre- 
sented their  Address,  and  it  was  referred  to  appropriate  com- 
mittees. This  Address  congratulated  the  Conferences  that  the 
troubles  and  dangers  which  had  threatened  the  peace  and  pros- 
perity of  the  Church  had  nearly  passed  away;  that,  whilst  these 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  357 

troubles  had  elicited  a  more  general  and  careful  attention  to  the 
economy  of  the  Church,  the  result  had  been  a  clearer  conviction 
of  the  excellency  of  our  polity,  and  especially  of  the  efficiency 
of  our  itinerant  system;  and  consequently,  peace,  harmony,  and 
reciprocal  confidence  had  been  greatly  increased  and  confirmed. 
They  therefore  suggested  that  the  chief  business  of  that  assem- 
bly was  to  preserve  this  state  of  things  and  to  devise  measures  for 
the  more  extensive  and  efficient  operation  of  that  system  which 
has  been  so  remarkably  successful. 

The  attention  of  the  Conference  was  invited  to  the  subjects 
of  missions  and  temperance,  with  various  other  topics,  particu- 
larly to  the  necessity  of  "strengthening  the  episcopacy  in  view 
of  the  death  of  Bishop  George  and  the  enlargement  of  the  work." 

Bishop  McKendree  was  greatly  delighted  with  this  repre- 
sentation of  the  condition  of  the  Church  and  of  the  peaceful  and 
harmonious  indications  in  the  Conference. 

Bishop  McKendree,  having  been  solicited  to  preach  the  funeral 
sermon  of  Bishop  George  and  preside  at  the  ordination  of  the 
bishops  elect,  delivered  an  appropriate  and  impressive  sermon 
on  May  25,  1832. 

The  following  extract  from  the  Journal  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1832,  shows  the  action  of  that  body  conformably  to 
a  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  in  relation  to  Bishop 
McKendree's  work  and  compensation  for  the  next  four  years: 

PHILADELPHIA,  GENERAL  CONFERENCE,  May  24,  1832. 

In  consequence  of  the  age  and  increased  infirmities  of  our  venerable  and 
beloved  Bishop  McKendree,  it  is  recommended  that  his  present  relation 
be  continued,  and  that  the  sum  of  $250  be  allowed  him  annually  for  extra 
expenses  and  to  defray  the  traveling  expenses  of  a  traveling  companion, 
and  $100  for  the  allowance  of  said  traveling  companion,  and  that  he  be 
authorized  to  draw  this  amount  from  the  Book  Concern. 

He  was  too  feeble  to  attend  constantly  the  sessions,  but  occasionally 
would  be  seen  walking  up  the  aisle  and  taking  a  seat  by  the  side  of  his 
colleagues,  but  would  remain  in  the  room  a  short  time  only.  His  last 
visit  to  the  Conference  was  made  the  day  before  the  adjournment.  Having 
remained  as  long  as  his  strength  would  allow,  he  arose  to  retire.  He  was 
but  too  conscious  of  his  approaching  dissolution  to  expect  ever  to  meet  his 
brethren  again  in  another  General  Conference.  Leaning  on  his  staff,  his 
once  tall  and  manly  form,  now  bent  with  age  and  infirmity,  his  eyes 
suffused  with  tears,  his  voice  faltering  with  emotion,  he  exclaimed:  "Let 
all  things  be  done  without  strife  or  vainglory,  and  try  to  keep  the  unity  of. 
the  Spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace.  My  brethren  and  children,  love  one  an- 
other." Then,  spreading  forth  his  trembling  hands,  and  raising  his  eyes  to 


358  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

heaven,  he  pronounced,  in  faltering  and  affectionate  accents,  the  apostolic 
benediction.    Slowly  and  sadly  he  left  the  house  to  return  no  more.1 

The  whole  assembly  rose  and  stood  till  he  disappeared.  It 
reminded  the  writer  of  Joshua's  farewell  to  the  assembled  elders 
and  people  of  Israel  at  Mount  Ephraim;  our  Moses  had  departed 
in  1816,  and  now  his  successor  takes  his  last,  fond  look  at  "the 
heads  of  the  tribes,"  his  old  and  tried  fellow  soldiers  on  many 
a  moral  battle  field,  and  bids  them  adieu! 

In  compliance  with  the  suggestions  of  the  bishops  and  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Episcopacy,  the  Conference 
proceeded  to  elect  two  more  bishops,  and  James  0.  Andrew  and 
John  Emory  were  elected  on  the  first  ballot,  the  former  by  a 
vote  of  140,  the  latter  by  135,  out  of  223  votes  cast. 

The  two  persons  elected  to  the  episcopacy  were  eminently 
fitted  for  the  office.  James  0.  Andrew  was  about  thirty-eight 
years  of  age.  He  was  admitted  on  trial  in  the  South  Carolina 
Conference  in  1812,  and  had  faithfully  and  usefully  filled  many 
important  appointments  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  He 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  of  a  spotless  reputation,  both  as  a 
man  and  a  minister.  In  his  private  and  social  intercourse  he 
was  cordial,  sincere,  and  affectionate;  and  as  a  preacher  he  was 
earnest,  strong,  and  useful,  grasping  his  subjects  firmly  and 
often  presenting  his  thoughts  with  peculiar  force  and  effect. 
His  strong  common  sense,  combined  with  his  piety,  intelligence, 
and  undoubted  devotion  to  the  Church,  pointed  him  out  as  a 
suitable  man  for  the  office.  How  he  has  fulfilled  its  duties,  we 
must  let  his  future  biographer  tell.  He  still  lives  as  the  super- 
annuated senior  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  honored  and  beloved  by  all  who  know  him,  as  a  man  and 
a  bishop,  without  guile  or  reproach. 

John  Emory  was  a  native  of  Queen  Anne  County,  Md.,  born 
1789.  He  received  a  classical  education,  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  study  of  the  law  with  ardor  and  success.  Before  he  had 
reached  his  majority,  he  obtained  license  as  a  lawyer  and  soon 
secured  an  honorable  position  in  his  profession.  His  parents  were 
Methodists  and  belonged  to  the  best  class  of  the  community. 
He  joined  the  Church  at  seventeen  years  of  age  and  entered  the 
itinerant  ministry  in  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  1810.  In 
person,  he  was  below  the  medium  height,  thin,  not  weighing 
over  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  His  features  were  indic- 
ative of  intelligence,  benignity,  and  thoughtfulness.  His  man- 

iLarabee,  p.  228. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  359 

ners  were  easy,  grave,  and  always  dignified.  His  early  classical 
and  professional  training  had  developed  a  mind  naturally  clear 
and  vigorous.  His  piety  was  steady;  his  sense  of  duty  strong. 
In  debate,  he  seized  upon  the  point  at  issue  at  once,  cleared  it  of 
all  extraneous  verbiage,  and  discussed  it  logically.  Such  was  the 
estimate  placed  upon  his  character  and  abilites  that  he  was 
sent  in  1820  as  a  representative  of  the  Church  to  the  British 
Conference,  and  in  1824  was  elected  Book  Agent  with  Nathan 
Bangs.  Mr.  Emory  had  filled  every  position  with  great  pro- 
priety and  success,  and  brought  to  the  Book  Agency  the  very 
highest  capacity  for  the  management  of  that  difficult  work,  and, 
in  association  with  his  laborious  and  worthy  colleague,  effected 
great  and  useful  results.  Take  him  all  in  all,  as  a  scholarly  and 
thoroughly  trained  mind,  he  had  no  superior  in  that  General 
Conference.  He  had,  therefore,  rare  qualifications  for  his  office. 
This  was  tested  severely  immediately  after  his  consecration. 
It  is  a  custom,  which  would  be  "more  honored  in  the  breach 
than  in  the  observance,"  to  place  the  newly  elected  bishop  in 
the  chair  the  first  session  after  his  ordination.  In  Bishop 
Emory's  case  this  happened  to  be  the  closing  session  of  the  body. 
It  was,  moreover,  a  night  session,  the  members  were  impatient, 
had  arranged  to  leave  early  next  morning,  and  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  unfinished  business  and  some  perplexing  matters 
to  adjust.  I  think  I  never  saw  a  General  Conference  session 
which  threatened  to  be  more  difficult  to  control,  and  I  truly 
sympathized  with  our  episcopal  novitiate  when  the  elder  bishop 
placed  him  in  the  chair  that  night.  But,  to  the  surprise  of  all, 
he  had  not  occupied  it  five  minutes  before  there  was  perfect 
order.  He  was  calm,  self-possessed;  understood  thoroughly  the 
Rules  of  Order,  and  applied  them  promptly,  impartially,  and 
to  the  admiration  of  all  present.  Thus  a  great  amount  of 
business  was  dispatched  quietly  and  intelligibly;  delicate 
questions  were  settled;  notices  given;  and  late  at  night  the 
largest  body  of  our  ministers  which  had  ever  convened  in  the 
United  States  adjourned  in  good  order,  to  meet  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  May,  1836.  It  was  the  most  harmonious  and  conservative 
session  held  since  the  organization  of  the  delegated  body  in  1808. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Bishop  Emory's  visit  to  the  South — His  death — His  letter  to  Bishop 
McKendree — Both  died  the  same  year — Bishop  McKendree  'takes  fi- 
nal leave  of  old  friends — Gets  back  to  Tennessee  on  a  bed  in  a  carriage 
— Letter  from  Bishop  Morris — Dr.  Adam  Clark's  letter — Melville  B.  Cox 
— His  account  of  himself — Goes  as  missionary  to  Liberia — Dies. 

BISHOP  EMORY  returned  to  New  York  the  day  after  the 
close  of  the  General  Conference,  and  the  writer,  having  a  lady 
in  charge,  had  the  pleasure  of  his  company.  He  had  known 
him  for  eight  years,  but  had  not  been  much  with  him,  ex- 
cept in  General  Conferences  and  committees,  and  was  much 
pleased  with  his  affable  manners  and  gravely  genial  spirit. 
Upon  arriving  by  steamboat  at  the  New  York  wharf,  there 
was  as  usual  a  great  crowd,  and  a  rush  of  hack  and  cab  drivers 
for  baggage  and  passengers.  The  Bishop  advised  me  to  stand 
by  our  baggage  until  he  should  select  a  conveyance,  and  then 
we  must  take  it  and  leave  the  management  of  the  baggage 
to  him  until  he  should  come  to  us.  When  all  was  ready,  we  were 
surprised  to  see  him  get  in,  too,  and  order  the  driver  to  carry  us  to 
a  certain  private  boarding  house.  It  was  nearly  night,  and  we 
knew  that  his  family  resided  out  of  the  city,  and  remonstrated 
against  his  taking  the  time  to  accompany  us  out  of  his  way.  He 
persisted,  introduced  and  commited  us  to  his  friends,  and  then 
left  for  his  own  home,  promising  to  call  on  us  at  our  far-distant 
Southern  home  "some  day."  This  promise  he  made  good 
during  his  only  tour  to  hold  the  Southern  Conferences,  greatly 
to  our  surprise  and  gratification;  for  late  one  afternoon  in  1833 
who  should  ride  up  to  our  home  in  La  Grange,  Ala.,  but  the 
Bishop?  He  had  traveled  on  horseback  pretty  much  alone 
the  whole  distance  from  his  house  to  Alabama,  and  was  en  route 
to  the  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  Conferences.  With  us  he 
tarried  and  rested  about  a  week.  Knowing  his  peculiar  tem- 
perament, and  that  he  could  not  sleep  unless  all  was  silence 
and  darkness,  he  was  domiciled  in  a  retired  room,  and  at  night 
all  his  fire  was  extinguished,  the  doors  and  windows  tightly 
fastened,  and  the  utmost  quietude  was  enjoyed;  even  the 
watchdog  was  interdicted  from  barking.  While  here,  he  wrote 
out  his  plan  for  a  four  years '  course  of  study  instead  of  two,  with 
various  other  important  suggestions  upon  this  and  kindred 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  361 

ten  at  this  time  and  place.  He  visited  and  preached  for  us, 
and  the  writer  went  some  distance  with  him  when  he  left.  His 
visit  taught  us  to  love  him  deeply;  we  had  respected  and  ad- 
mired him  before. 

The  ensuing  year  (1835)  he  was  thrown  from  his  carriage 
and  was  found  on  the  turnpike  near  Baltimore,  bleeding  and 
dying.  Then  the  Church  suffered  a  great  loss,  and  we  mourned 
over  his  early  death  as  for  a  brother  beloved.  The  writer  has 
perpetuated  his  name  in  his  own  family  and  his  memory  in 
his  heart. 

The  following  is  his  interesting  letter  to  Bishop  McKendree, 
just  refered  to  above: 

LA  GRANGE,  ALA.,  OCTOBER  28, 1833. 

Dear  Bishop:  If  your  health  will  allow  it,  as  I  hope  it  will,  I  beg  your 
consideration  of  the  following  thoughts  and  your  judgment  on  them 
at  your  convenience. 

It  has  long  been  my  conviction  that  our  course  of  study  for  young 
preachers  should  be  the  same  in  all  the  Conferences;  that  it  should  be 
more  simple  and  Methodistical  than  it  has  been  in  some  of  them, 
the  indispensable  books  being  such  as  all  the  candidates  can  everywhere 
and  at  all  times  obtain  and  the  measures  for  examination  to  be  more 
efficient.  A  sketch  of  this  sort  may  be  found  in  the  course  proposed 
by  Bishop  Hedding  and  myself  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in  April 
last  and  very  unanimously  adopted.  It  is  contained  in  the  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal  of  May  10;  and  though  it  was  drawn  up  in  haste 
amid  the  business  of  Conference,  yet  I  beg  leave  to  refer  you  to  it  as 
an  outline  of  what  I  propose  for  the  present,  subject  to  the  improve- 
ments of  experience  and  time.  The  course  is  there  divided  into  two 
years  in  reference  to  the  present  rule  for  admission  into  full  connec- 
tion; but  I  shall  hope  that  we  may  agree  to  recommend  to  the  next 
General  Conference  the  extension  of  it  to  four  years  in  reference  to 
graduation  to  the  full  powers  of  eldership;  by  which  means  also  the 
course  may  be  made  more  comprehensive  and  elders  be  trained  up  who 
will  be  prepared  to  advise  and  examine  others  on  doctrine,  discipline, 
and  government,  as  well  as  on  language,  history,  geography,  etc.  The 
necessity  for  such  a  uniform  course  of  study  of  the  same  standard  works 
for  both  traveling  and  local  preachers — as  you  will  presently  see  my  plan 
embraces — appears  to  me  the  most  obvious,  not  only  from  the  mere 
fact  of  the  great  annual  increase  of  our  members  spread  over  so  great 
an  extent  of  country,  but  also  from  the  multiplication  of  books  and 
any  speculations  which  are  issued  from  the  press,  whether  our  own 
or  others,  through  the  periodicals  or  otherwise.  I  propose,  also,  that 
the  committees  of  examination  be  always  appointed  at  the  Annual 
Conference  preceding;  that  each  member  of  the  committee  be  informed 
on  what  particular  branch  of  the  course  he  will  be  expected  to  ex- 
amine; that  the  candidate  be  required  to  meet  the  committee  in 


362  Life  and  Times  of  BishoplMcKendree 

the  morning  of  the  day  before  the  sitting  of  the  Conference;  that  the 
members  of  the  committee  be  in  part  changed  annually,  so  as  to  circu- 
late the  work  of  examining  through  the  Conference  and  thereby  to 
excite  the  older  members  to  study  in  order  to. prepare  themselves  for 
this  duty;  and  also  that  we  ourselves  in  the  general  superintendency, 
on  whom  the  effective  administration  rests,  make  ourselves  familiar 
with  the  course  as  far  as  may  be  convenient,  which  may  the  more 
readily  be  done  when  it  shall  be  the  same  in  all  the  Conferences;  at- 
tend the  examinations  when  practicable,  and  give  such  advice  and 
assistance  as  we  may  judge  expedient,  thereby  exciting  both  the  can- 
didates and  examiners  to  greater  diligence,  promoting  uniform  views 
and  practice,  acquainting  ourselves  personally  with  the  qualifications 
of  those  whom  we  have  to  station,  and  on  whom  to  lay  hands,  not  to 
mention  the  improvement  (which  I  feel  much  the  need  of  having  my- 
self) which  we  ourselves  may  derive  from  those  present  on  these  occasions 
and  thus  assisting  to  teach. 

And  now,  in  reference  to  the  local  order,  the  great  nursery  for  the  itin- 
erant connection,  why  may  we  not,  through  the  presiding  elders  or  other- 
wise, recommend  to  all  the  quarterly  meeting  Conferences  to  require 
attention  to  the  same  course  of  study,  suitably  divided,  on  the  part, 
for  example,  of  all  those  applying  for  license  to  preach,  or  for  renewal 
of  license,  or  recommendation  of  orders,  or  to  travel,  that  they  shall, 
in  these  respective  cases,  have  previously  acquainted  themselves  with 
such  a  part  of  the  course  as  shall  have  been  prescribed?  This,  in  the  first 
place,  will  tend  to  check  the  licensings  of  wholly  unfit  persons  and  the 
recommending  of  such,  either  for  orders  or  to  travel;  and,  in  the  second 
place,  local  preachers  who  had  previously  gone  through  this  uniform 
course  of  training  would,  in  case  of  their  admission  into  the  traveling 
connection,  find  their  subsequent  progress  easy;  and  the  way  would  be 
also  thus  prepared  for  a  future  enlargement  and  improvement  of  the 
course.  Indeed,  I  see  no  reason  why  the  Annual  Conferences  and  the 
quarterly  meeting  Conferences,  by  consent,  on  our  advice,  might  not 
now  act  on  these  principles,  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of  some 
such  uniform  and  efficient  measures  by  the  General  Conference.  In 
all  cases  of  committees  for  examining  local  preachers  on  the  course, 
I  should  think  it  desirable  that  one  or  more  of  the  preachers  of  the  cir- 
cuit or  station  should  be  of  the  committee,  and  that  the  presiding  elder 
should  be  present  and  give  his  advice  or  assistance  as  he  might  judge 
expedient  in  the  same  manner  as  is  proposed  to  be  done  by  the  bishops 
in  the  case  of  itinerant  preachers,  thus  securing  or  promoting,  as  far  as 
practicable,  a  harmony  of  views  and  practice  between  our  two  great 
ministerial  bodies.  One  other  great  point  which  I  have  much  at  heart, 
believing  it  vitally  important  for  the  preservation  of  our  economy  and 
to  both  spiritual  and  temporal  prosperity,  is  the  effecting  of  a  greater 
unformity  in  the  administration  of  discipline  throughout  our  widespread 
charge.  In  this  I  fear  there  is  not  only  increasing  neglect,  but  great 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  363 

variety,  if  not  contrariety;  as  a  preventive,  or  a  remedy  in  part,  I  think 
of  proposing  to  the  bishops — 

1.  That  we  severally  keep  a  record  of  all  decisions  made  by  either  of 
us,  and  of  all  those  of  a  general  nature  made  by  any  Annual  Conference 
which  we  may  attend,  and  that  we  communicate  them  to  each  other 
at  the  close  of  our  respective  rounds  of  Conferences,  or  oftener;  that  we 
may  sustain  each  other  when  we  agree  or  endeavor  to  convince  each 
other  and  come  to  an  agreement  when  we  differ. 

2.  That  we  direct  the  presiding  elders  to  keep  a  record  of  all  of  their 
decisions  and  those  of  any  quarterly  meeting  Conferences  which  they 
may  attend  and  to  furnish  us  with  a  copy  when  they  meet  us  at  our  re- 
spective Annual  Conferences. 

3.  That  all  preachers  in  charge  be  directed  to  consult  their  presiding 
elders  in  all  cases  of  difficulty  or  doubt,  and  the  presiding  elders,  in  cases 
of  difficulty  or  doubt  to  them,  to  consult  the  bishop  most  convenient; 
and  if  we  ourselves  individually  doubt,  to  consult  each  other  by  letter, 
giving  such  temporary  instructions  in  the  meantime  as  we  shall  judge 
most  prudent.    I  had  once,  indeed,  thought  of  proposing  that  one  of 
us  be  designated  to  whom  all  such  communications  should  be  made 
in  the  interval  of  Conferences,  and  that  one  to  communicate  with  the 
rest  in  cases  of  difficulty  at  such  times  as  he  should  judge  proper.    This 
would  obviously  throw  on  such  an  individual  great  labor,  and  I  am 
not  sure  whether  it  would  be  the  best  plan;  yet,  if  any  one  of  the  bishops 
be  willing  to  take  it,  I  should  heartily  concur,  or  should  even  be  will- 
ing to  render  any  service  in  this  way  in  my  power,  if  desired,  rather 
than  to  fail  in  the  object. 

•  4.  That  the  bishops  agree  to  meet  always  several  days  (perhaps  a  week 
would  be  little  enough)  previously  to  each  General  Conference,  then 
and  there  to  discuss  all  points  remaining  unsettled  in  our  proper  prov- 
ince; by  which  means  also  we  would  be  better  prepared  to  make  such 
farther  recommendations  as  we  would  judge  requisite. 

With  best  wishes  and  prayers  for  your  health  and  happiness, 
Very  affectionately,  J.  EMORY. 

P.  S. — The  Conferences  which  I  am  next  to  attend,  the  Lord  willing, 
will  be  held  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  November  13;  Montgomery,  Ala.,  De- 
cember 11;  Washington,  Ga.,  January  8;  Charleston,  S.  C.,  February  5;  after 
which,  to  Baltimore;  and  shall  at  all  times  be  happy  to  hear  from  you, 
and  to  receive  your  counsel,  or  any  suggestions  which  may  occur  to  you. 

J.  E. 

The  foregoing  letter,  whatever  opinions  there  may  be  as  to 
some  of  his  suggestions,  and  the  writer  is  free  to  say  he  sees 
no  seriuos  objections  to  any  of  them,  exhibits  strongly  the 
characteristics  of  this  great  and  good  man's  mind.  Many  of  his 
suggestions  have  been  adopted  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  and,  it  is  believed,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  also.  In  thinking  of  Bishop  Emory,  and  of  his  equally 


364  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

talented  son  Robert,  and  of  their  early  death,  the  exclama- 
tion involuntarily  rises  to  our  lips,  Why,  0  why,  were  such 
men  taken  away  so  soon?  We  must  wait  for  the  answer  until 
the  day  of  judgment.  Until  then,  we  must  bow  with  submis- 
sion to  the  providence  of  a  wise  and  good  God. 

The  death  of  Bishop  McKendree  and  Bishop  Emory  oc- 
curred in  the  same  year,  1835,  the  former,  like  the  evening  star, 
slowly  and  majestically  sinking  below  the  horizon  of  a  cloud- 
less sky;  the  latter,  as  if 

The  brightest  star  in  all  the  train, 
The  glory  of  night's  diadem, 

should  rush  from  the  meridian  and  become  suddenly  extinct. 
But  they  are  not  extinct,  they  have  risen  in  another  hemisphere 
to  shine  forever! 

'  'The  General  Conference  of  1832  having  closed,  the  senior 
bishop  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  friends,  and  especially 
of  the  preachers,  expecting  to  see  them  no  more  until  he  should 
meet  them  in  the  heavenly  city. "  With  mingled  emotions  of  sor- 
row and  joy,  this  final  farewell  was  uttered,  they  "sorrowing 
most  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake,  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more;"  and  that,  however  white  the  widespread 
harvest  field  might  be,  the  arm  that  had  swung  the  sickle  so 
long  and  so  effectively  was  now  palsied  by  age  and  the  voice 
that  had  rung  its  clarion  shouts  of  "Onward!"  to  his  fellow 
toilers  in  the  glorious  work  was  like  the  daughter  of  music 
brought  low;  the  doors  were  being  shut  in  the  streets,  the  sound 
of  the  grinding  was  low,  the  almond  tree  flourished,  the  grass- 
hopper was  a  burden,  desire  failing,  and  man  was  going  to  his 
long  home.  On  his  part,  doubtless,  there  were  tears,  and  sor- 
row, too;  but  could  we  look  into  the  depths  of  his  heart,  we 
should  find  that  this  sorrow  was  not  on  account  of  youthful 
pleasure  gone  or  for  declining  health  and  strength;  still  less 
for  cares  and  toils  and  sufferings  endured,  but  rather  that  he 
could  work  and  suffer  no  longer  for  Christ's  sake. 

Returning  to  Baltimore,  he  spent  a  few  weeks  enjoying  the 
society  of  many  endeared  to  him  by  long  years  of  Christian 
love  and  fellowship;  then,  turning  his  face  to  the  West,  "he 
crosses  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  which  he  had  so  often  crossed 
in  weariness  and  affliction  before,  the  last  time.  Passing 
through  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  the  north  of 
Virginia,  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  he  at  last  reached 
his  friends  in  Tennessee.  In  the  latter  part  of  this  journey  it 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  365 

became  necessary  to  fix  a  bed  in  the  carriage  on  which  he  might 
lie  down,  being  too  feeble  to  sit  up." 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing,  and  as  illustrative  of  the 
feelings  entertained  by  the  members  of  the  General  Conference  as 
well  as  of  the  Church  generally  toward  the  Bishop,  I  hope  I 
violate  no  courtesy  which  will  not  be  conceded,  by  inserting 
the  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Thomas  A.  Morris,  now 
senior  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  long  the 
loved  and  trusted  friend  of  Bishop  McKendree,  as  also  of  the 
writer: 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO  February  27,  1833. 

Bishop  McKendree:  Perhaps  when  we  parted  in  Philadelphia,  I  shook 
hands  with  you  for  the  last  time  in  the  land  of  our  pilgrimage,  but  am 
not  without  hope  of  seeing  you  in  peace  when  the  redeemed  shall  be  called 
home.  You  have  had  your  day  of  toil,  peril,  and  now  while  you  retire 
from  the  field  to  recount  your  campaigns,  toils,  and  victories,  it  must 
be  a  source  of  much  consolation  to  lift  up  your  eyes,  look  eastward,  west- 
ward, northward,  and  southward  and  behold  the  land  posessed  by  your 
brethren  and  children  in  the  gospel.  What  wonders  God  has  wrought 
in  these  latter  days! 

The  history  of  our  Church  in  this  place  the  present  year,  if  carried  out 
in  all  parts,  would  be  somewhat  remarkable.  Three  of  our  local  preach- 
ers have  died  and  many  of  our  members.  During  the  cholera,  we  lost 
by  removal,  etc.,  two  hundred,  which  reduced  us  far  below  twelve  hun- 
dred. But  we  had  more  than  all  this  to  discourage  us.  .  ."".  Yet 
God  was  with  us,  and  this  was  enough.  The  work  began  to  appear  in 
October,  among  the  brethren  first,  and  then  the  wicked.  It  gradually 
increased,  until  Brother  Maffitt  came  on  the  last  of  November,  which 
formed  a  new  crisis  in  the  history  of  a  revival  that  has  now  become  both 
deep  and  wide.  Seven  hundred,  at  least,  have  now  been  regularly  admit- 
ted on  trial,  and  I  risk  nothing  in  saying,  more  than  five  hundred  souls 
have  been  "born  again."  Many  of  the  old  members  have  obtained  the 
full,  flowing  evidence  of  perfect  love.  Class  meetings  are  feasts  of  joy 
among  us,  and  Zion  puts  on  her  "beautiful  garments."  Infidelity.in  its 
various  modifications,  has  suffered  much  from  this  work,  but  the  Church  is 
greatly  strengthened,  both  in  grace  and  members.  The  work  still  goes 
on,  and  we  hope  to  realize  a  thousand  new  members  in  this  station  this 
present  Conference  year.  Glorious  revivals  are  now  in  progress  in  many 
of  the  towns  in  Ohio.  May  the  swelling  tide  roll  on  and  increase  until 
the  glory  of  God  shall  cover  the  whole  earth! 

I  trust,  Father  McKendree,  that  amidst  all  of  your  earthly  suffer- 
ings, you  hold  on  to  the  sheet  anchor,  and  when  your  heart  and  your 
flesh  shall  fail  you,  may  God  be  the  strength  of  your  heart,  and  your 
portion  forever! 

Your  obiedient  son  in  the  gospel,  THOMAS  A.  MORRIS. 


366  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

As  there  had  been  an  interchange  of  delegates  between  the 
British  and  American  Methodists  at  the  two  preceding  Gen- 
eral Conferences,  it  was  hoped  that  as  we  had  sent  one  in  1828 
(Dr.  Capers),  another  would  be  sent  by  the  British  Confer- 
ence to  the  General  Conference  of  1832;  and  as  it  was  greatly 
desired  by  Bishop  McKendree,  as  well  as  by  others,  that  Dr. 
Adam  Clarke  should  visit  us,  it  appears  that  certain  well-known 
ministers  wrote  him  a  letter,  inviting  him  to  visit  the  United 
States.  The  following  highly  interesting  reply  is  found  among 
the  Bishop's  papers: 

To  Messrs.  J.  Emory,  B.  Waugh,  N.  Bangs,  and  George  Suckley. 

Gentlemen  and  Reverend  Brethren:  Having  been  absent  in  the  West 
of  England  for  a  considerable  time,  your  letter  did  not  reach  my  hand 
till  some  weeks  after  its  arrival.  Your  kind  invitation  to  visit  the 
United  States  was  gratifying  to  me,  and  had  I  been  apprised  of  your 
intention  a  few  months  earlier,  I  should  most  certainly  have  endeavored  to 
meet  your  wishes,  and  by  doing  so  I  have  no  doubt  I  should  have  been 
both  gratified  and  profited.  But  the  warning  is  too  short,  and  I  am 
engaged  so  far,  both  to  England  and  Ireland,  in  behalf  of  our  mission- 
ary cause,  that  I  cannot  by  any  substitute  redeem  those  pledges.  I  had 
proposed  also  to  have  visited  the  Zetland  Isles,  if  possible;  but  as  I  had 
not  pledged  myself  to  the  voyage,  I  would  have  waived  my  purpose  in 
favor  of  America,  to  visit  which  I  have  been  long  waiting  for  an  opening  of 
providence.  I  might  add  that  I  should  have  wished  to  have  had  the 
appointment  of  our  Conferences  for  the  voyage. 

Now,  although  I  feel  a  measure  of  regret  that  I  am  disappointed  in 
this  wished-f  or  visit  to  the  American  continent,  yet  I  am  far  from  supposing 
that  there  may  not  be  a  providential  interference  in  the  way.  I  am,  as 
no  doubt  you  have  already  learned,  an  old  man,  having  gone  beyond 
threescore  years  and  ten,  and  consequently  not  able  to  perform  the  labor 
of  youth.  You  would  naturally  expect  me  to  preach  much,  and  this 
I  could  not  do.  One  sermon  in  the  day  generally  exhausts  me;  and  I 
have  been  obliged  for  several  years  to  give  up  all  evening  preaching,  as 
I  found  the  night  air  to  be  peculiarly  injurious  to  my  health.  My  help, 
therefore,  must  have  been  very  limited,  and  in  many  cases  this  would  be 
very  unsatisfactory  to  the  good  people  of  the  United  States.  This  defi- 
ciency I  grant  might  be  supplied  by  an  able  assistant,  who  might  be  inclined 
to  accompany  me;  but  even  this  would  not  satisfy  the  eye  or  ear  of 
curiosity.  But  as  the  journey  is  now  impracticable,  these  reflections 
are  useless 

I  respect  and  wish  well  to  your  State,  and  love  your  Church.  As  far 
as  I  can  discern,  you  are  close  imitators  of  the  orginal  Methodists  (than 
whom  a  greater  blessing  has  not  been  given  to  the  British  nation  since 
the  Reformation),  holding  the  same  doctrines  and  acting  under  the  same 
discipline;  therefore  have  you  prospered  as  we  have  prospered.  There 
is  no  danger  so  imminent  both  to  you  and  us  as  departing  from  our 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  367 

original  simplicity  in  the  spirit,  in  manners,  and  in  our  mode  of  worship. 
As  the  world  is  continually  changing  around  us,  we  are  liable  to  be  affect- 
ed by  those  changes  in  our  manners  and  in  our  mode  of  worship.  We 
think,  in  many  cases,  we  may  please  well-intentioned  men  better  and 
be  more  useful  to  them  by  permitting  some  of  the  more  innocent  forms 
of  the  world  to  enter  into  the  Church.  Whenever  we  have  done  so  we 
have  infallibly  lost  ground  in  the  depth  of  our  religion  and  in  its  spirit- 
uality and  unction.  I  would  say  to  all,  Keep  your  doctrines  and  your 
discipline  not  only  in  your  Church  books  and  in  your  society  rules;  preach 
the  former  without  refining  on  them;  observe  the  latter  without  bending  it 
to  circumstances  or  impairing  it  by  frivolous  exceptions  and  partialities. 
As  I  believe  your  nation  to  be  destined  to  be  the  mightiest  and  happiest 
nation  on  the  globe,  so  I  believe  that  your  Church  is  likely  to  become 
the  most  extensive  and  pure  in  the  universe.  As  a  Church,  abide  in  the 
apostolic  doctrine  and  fellowship.  As  a  nation,  be  firmly  united;  enter- 
tain no  petty  differences;  totally  abolish  the  slave  trade  (if  it  be  not  yet 
done);  abhor  all  offensive  wars;  never  provoke  even  the  puniest,  and  never 
strike  the  first  blow.  Encourage  agriculture  and  friendly  traffic;  cul- 
tivate the  sciences  and  arts;  let  learning  have  its  proper  place,  space  and 
adequate  share  of  esteem  and  honor.  If  possible,  live  in  peace  with  all 
nations;  retain  your  holy  zeal  for  God's  cause  and  your  country's  weal 
and,  that  you  may  ever  maintain  your  liberty,  avoid,  as  its  bane  and 
ruin,  a  national  debt.  I  say  to  you,  as  it  was  said  to  Rome  of  old:1 

Tu  regere  imperio  populo,  Romane,  memento; 
Has  tibi  crunt  artes;  pacisque  imponere  morem, 
Parcere  subjectis  et  debellare  superbos — Virgil. 

But  whither  am  I  running?  Will  it  be  a  sufficient  excuse  to  allege, 
"The  zeal  of  your  house  hath  eaten  me  up"?  Truly,  truly  do  I  wish 
you  good  luck,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  and  therefore,  with  my  best 
prayers  for  your  civil  and  religious  prosperity,  and  hearty  thanks  to 
each  of  you  individually,  for  the  handsome  and  honorable  manner  in 
which  you  have  framed  your  invitation,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentle- 
men and  reverend  brethren,  your  obliged  humble  servant  and  most 
cordial  well-wisher,  ADAM  CLARKE. 

HAYDON  HALL,  MIDDLESEX,  February  6, 1832. 

Melville  B.  Cox,  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Conference,  who 
had  been  stationed  in  the  city  of  Raleigh  in  1831,  and  was  a  re- 
serve delegate  to  this  General  Conference,  volunteered  to  go 
as  a  missionary  to  Liberia,  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  and 
having  been  accepted,  and  appointed,  attended  the  General 
Conference  on  his  way  to  his  distant  and  dangerous  field  of 
labor.  In  mind  and  heart  he  seemed  admirably  adapted  to 
this  enterprise,  while  some  thought  his  health  and  constitution 
too  frail  for  it.  Great  admiration  and  much  sympathy  were 

iThe  appropriateness  of  this  quotation  in  its  application  to  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  its  morale,  may  be  questioned. 


368  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

excited  in  his  behalf.  He  was  a  very  promising,  intelligent 
and  lovely  man,  in  the  prime  of  life  and  full  of  heroic  Christian 
zeal.  Bishop  McKendree,  feeling  a  lively  interest  in  the  man 
and  the  cause,  requested  him  to  give  in  writing  the  incidents 
of  his  life,  especially  his  own  conversion  and  religious  experience. 
The  following  is  his  answer,  written  when  on  his  way  to  em- 
bark for  Liberia: 

PHILADELPHIA,  May  28,  1832. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Father:  Below  are  the  data  of  my  Christian  and 
ministerial  experience,  which  you  were  pleased  so  kindly  to  inquire 
after.  Though  my  life  can  have  been  of  little  or  no  consequence  in  this 
world,  save  that  I  love  and  am  trying  to  serve  God,  still,  the  interest 
which  prompted  the  inquiry  by  one  so  venerable  in  age  and  so  high  in 
the  government  and  confidence  of  the  Church,  I  assure  you,  is  very 
grateful  to  my  feelings.  That  the  God  whom  you  serve  may  bless  and  be 
with  you,  that  he  may  particulary  sustain  and  comfort  you  under  the 
infirmities  of  age  and  the  care  of  all  the  Churches,  and  that  your  life 
may  long  be  preserved  to  us  and  to  the  world  is  my  sincere  wish  and 
ardent  prayer. 

I  am  thirty-two  years  old.  I  was  born  in  Hollowell,  Me.,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1799.  In  1818,  July  1,  I  think  I  found  peace  in  believing  and  joy 
while  alone  in  the  woods,  pleading  for  mercy  in  the  last  language  of 
hope,  if  not  in  despair.  In  a  few  weeks  after  I  joined  a  small  class  of 
Methodists,  and  from  that  time  to  this  my  name  has  been  among  them. 
Early  in  1820,  during  a  gracious  revival,  I  took  charge  of  a  class,  and 
on  December  17  of  the  same  year  I  preached  my  first  sermon.  In  March 
following,  I  was  licensed  as  a  local  preacher  by  the  Kennebeck  District 
Conference,  and  immediately  commenced  traveling  under  the  pre- 
siding elder.  At  the  Bath  Conference  of  1822,  I  was  received  on  trial 
and  put  in  charge  of  Exeter  Circuit.  I  traveled  as  an  effective  man  until 
May,  1825,  when  I  was  taken  sick  and  was  left  that  year  as  a  super- 
numerary with  little  prospect  of  recovering.  In  1826  and  1827  I  was 
superannuated,  passing  the  winter  of  1826  and  the  spring  of  1827  in  Mary- 
land and  the  lowlands  of  Virginia,  where  I  have  remained  until  now, 
except  the  last  year,  in  North  Carolina.  In  1828  I  located,  and  took 
charge  of  The  Itinerant.  In  1830,  finding  myself  about  a  thousand 
dollars  poorer  than  when  I  commenced  my  editorial  labors,  under  deep 
family  afflictions,  and  with  lungs  too  sensitive  to  endure  the  cold,  I 
left  Baltimore  for  a  more  Southern  climate.  The  kind  manner  in  which 
I  was  received  by  my  Virginia  brethren,  and  anxiety  once  more  to  be 
in  the  traveling  connection,  induced  me  to  join  that  Conferene,  and, 
live  or  die,  once  more  to  try  to  preach  to  sinners.  As  yet  I  have 
no  cause  to  regret  it.  It  has  been  a  year  of  greater  profit  to  my  soul 
than  any  I  have  ever  experienced.  I  have  sufferd  much,  but  enjoyed 
more.  Some  souls  were  converted,  and  my  own  more  filled  than  for 
years.  "God  was  with  us."  At  present,  I  am  in  peace.  Death  looks 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  369 

pleasant  to  me,  life  looks  pleasant  to  me,  labor  and  sufferings  look 
pleasant  to  me,  and  last,  though  not  least,  Liberia  looks  pleasant  to  me. 
I  see,  or  think  I  see,  resting  on  Africa  the  light  and  cloud  of  heaven.  I 
thirst  to  know  that  the  winds  of  heaven  are  wafting  me  there.  I  pray, 
at  least,  that  my  frail  body  may  enrich  the  soil. 

Very  affectionately  and  Christianly,  your  son  in  the  gospel, 

M.  B.  Cox. 

On  March  9,  1833,  he  arrived  at  Liberia  and  immediately 
began  his  labors.  He  found  many  members,  class  leaders, 
and  preachers,  and  organized  them  into  a  branch  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  He  planned  three  missions  and  an 
academy  at  Monrovia.  On  March  29,  he  held  the  first  camp 
meeting  ever  held  in  Africa.  But  in  less  than  five  months 
from  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  died,  and  his  body  rests  in  the 
soil  of  Africa.  Nevertheless,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  great 
mission  and  vindicated  his  sincerity  by  prescribing  as  his  epi- 
taph: "Let  a  thousand  fall  before  Africa  be  given  up!"  Alas! 
twenty-five  white  missionaries  had  died  of  the  climate,  or 
fled  from  it  with  ruined  health,  in  seventeen  years,  while  only 
four  colored  laborers  had  died  in  the  same  time. 
24 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

McKendree  attends  the  Tennesse  Conference  in  Pulaski,  1833 — Bishop 
Roberts  failed  to  get  there — Bishop  McKendree  unable  to  preside — 
His  substitutes — Meteoric  shower — He  appoints  T.  L.  Douglass  pre- 
siding elder — Sketch  of  him — Bishop  McKendree's  address  to  his  col- 
leagues— His  sermon — Returns  to  Nashville  exhausted — Preaches — 
Resumes  his  Journal — Watch  night — Starts  to  New  Orleans,  January 
1,  1834 — His  account  of  the  tour — At  Vicksburg — C.  K.  Marshall — 
At  Natchez — Judge  Edward  McGehee  and  the  Rev.  John  C.  Burruss — 
Dr.  Tooley — "Slight  paralysis" — His  letter  to  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Owen — 
Returns  to  Tennessee — His  last  camp  meeting  and  interview  with  Wil- 
liam Burke — His  last  Conference  at  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  1834 — Requested 
to  prepare  his  biography — His  reply — Last  document. 

So  utterly  debilitated  was  the  Bishop  by  his  long  and  pain- 
ful journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Tennessee,  after  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1832,  that  a  considerable  period  of  repose 
was  necessary  before  he  could  begin  to  move  about;  but,  as 
usual,  rest  and  kind  nursing  after  a  while  revived  him,  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  spring  of  1833,  and  throughout  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year,  he  exerted  his  utmost  ability  in  preach- 
ing, visiting,  and  attending  quarterly  and  camp  meetings.  In 
August,  1833,  he  attended  at  Saunder's  Camp  Ground  an  in- 
teresting camp  meeting,  and,  of  course,  preached.  His  kind 
hostess,  Mrs.  H.  R.  W.  Hill,  met  him  there,  and  carried  him 
to  his  home  in  her  house  at  Nashville.  There,  besides  the 
kindest  attention,  he  could  enjoy  frequent  religious  privileges 
and  the  society  of  his  friends — Elliston,  Garrett,  his  old  fellow 
laborer;  Gwin,  another  firm  and  devoted  friend;  A.  L.  P. 
Green,  whose  fine  social  qualities  and  reverential  attachment 
to  the  Bishop  always  made  him  an  agreeable  companion;  F. 
E.  Pitts;  and  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  upon  whose  fidelity,  sound 
judgment,  and  love  of  primitive  Methodism  he  ever  relied 
with  unshaken  confidence,  besides  many  others  who  always 
made  his  stay  in  that  vicinity  most  agreeable. 

The  Tennessee  Conference  met  in  Pulaski,  November  6. 
Bishop  Roberts  was  expected  to  preside,  but  he  was  taken  ill 
in  East  Tennessee  and  did  not  get  to  Conference.  Bishop 
McKendree  arrived,  but  was  so  feeble  and  afflicted  that  after 
opening  and  organizing  the  body  he  despaired  of  being  able  to 
attend  effectively  to  the  duties  of  his  office.  Indeed,  he  was  in 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  371 

bed  most  of  the  session.  He  informed  the  Conference  of  his 
inability  to  attend  to  the  onerous  detail  of  the  business,  and 
especially  in  making  the  appointments,  and  that  he  would 
select  two  men  who  must  act  for  him,  subject  to  his  general 
supervision;  claiming,  especially,  the  selection  of  the  presiding 
elders  and  the  arrangement  of  the  districts.  He  then  named 
Lewis  Garrett  and  the  writer  as  his  substitutes.  The  session 
closed  on  the  fifteenth.  It  was  a  long  and  laborious  one. 

On  the  night  of  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  November  12,  13, 
occurred  the  memorable  meteoric  shower,  which  is  admitted  to 
have  been  the  most  magnificent  on  record.  The  Bishop's  sub- 
stitutes and  cabinet  had  been  engaged  to  a  late  hour,  and  the 
writer  had  just  fallen  into  a  profound  sleep,  when  he  was 
aroused  by  loud  calls  from  without.  Upon  going  out,  the  most 
glorious  scene  was  presented.  The  heavens  were  illumined  by 
countless  meteors.  Some  seemed  small,  gliding  down  like  snow 
flakes;  others  were  like  great  fire  balls;  a  few  of  these  separated 
into  fragments,  leaving  long  and  luminous  trains  behind.  Look 
wherever  you  might,  the  whole  hemisphere  was  full  of  them. 
It  was  literally  a  great  shower  of  meteors.  The  display  be- 
gan before  midnight,  increased  until  3  or  4  A.M.,  when  it 
became  surpassingly  grand,  and  continued,  with  little  if  any 
diminution,  until  daybreak.  Many  displays  of  this  kind  are 
recorded,  dating  back  to  A.D.  902,  the  most  remarkable  of  which 
was  that  seen  by  Humboldt  and  Bonpland,  at  Cumana,  in 
South  America,  on  the  night  of  November  12,  13,  1799,  the 
time  of  the  writer's  birth.  He  had  just  been  reading  the  account 
given  by  these  savants  of  that  shower  and  their  speculations 
upon  the  nature  of  these  bodies,  their  source,  and  the  height 
of  our  atmosphere;  and  his  first  thoughts  upon  witnessing  the 
scene  of  1833  were  as  to  these  speculations.  The  meteors  of 
1799  were  observed  from  the  equator  on  the  south,  over  North 
America  to  Greenland  and  Labrador,  and  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic  to  Germany,  and  from  their  bearing  and  course 
at  different  points,  their  elevation  was  computed  to  be  1,419 
miles.  The  display  of  1833  was  seen  over  all  the  United  States, 
the  West  India  Islands,  Mexico,  and  Canada,  and  their  source, 
as  computed  by  Professor  Olmstead,  of  Yale  College,  could  not 
have  been  less  than  2,238  miles,  and  consequently  was  far 
beyond  our  atmosphere.  Astronomers  now,  I  believe,  agree 
that  they  emanate  from  a  nebulous  body  which  revolves  around 
the  sun  and  intersects  the  earth's  orbit  periodically.  Their 
nebulous  character  is  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  though  they 


372  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

seem  to  fall  toward  the  earth  with  great  velocity,  none  of  them 
ever  reach  it  in  a  solid  state,  but  are  so  dissipated  that  nothing  is 
found  to  discover  their  nature.  It  is  also  supposed  that  there 
are  several  such  bodies,  or  streams,  which  periodically  intersect 
the  orbit  of  our  planet;  and  that  the  most  brilliant  displays 
are  seen  while  passing  through  the  densest  group  of  these 
streams.  Meteors  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  aerolites. 

There  was  considerable  religious  interest  in  Pulaski  at  the 
time,  and  this  awfully  sublime  phenomenon  startled  and  im- 
pressed the  people  very  greatly.  The  less  informed  believed 
"the  stars  were  falling,"  and  the  day  of  judgment  had  come. 
Prayers,  shouts,  and  screams  arose  in  many  places  of  the  town. 
Several  preachers  had  asked  to  be  located  the  previous  after- 
noon; next  morning  all  withdrew  their  request  except  one. 
Some  one  observed  in  the  Conference:  "While  the  stars  seemed 
falling  last  night,  I  thought  what  a  pity  it  would  be  to  locate 
on  the  eve  of  the  judgment!"  About  forty  professed  conversion 
and  joined  the  Church.  After  a  long  session,  the  Conference 
closed  on  November  15. 

The  appointments  having  been  completed,  excepting  the 
presiding  elders,  the  list  was  presented  to  the  Bishop,  when  the 
incident  occurred  alluded  to  in  Dr.  Green's  sketch  of  Bishop 
McKendree,  and  as  it  exhibits  the  delicate  and  responsible 
nature  of  this  office  as  well  as  his  fitness  for  it  it  may  be  properly 
introduced: 

Thomas  L.  Douglass  had  long  been  known  as  singularly 
adapted  to  the  presiding  eldership.  He  was  a  model  preacher, 
well-versed  in  the  history,  doctrines,  and  usages  of  the  Church, 
administered  the  Discipline  admirably,  and  dearly  loved 
Methodism.  Owing  to  a  fall  from  his  horse,  he  had  been 
disabled,  and  had  not  been  effective  for  four  years;  but  his 
health  had  improved  considerably,  and  at  this  Conference  he 
became  effective.  A  prejudice,  however,  had  arisen  against 
him,  both  among  some  of  the  preachers  in  the  Conference  and 
some  of  the  stewards  in  his  former  district,  simply  and  exclu- 
sively because  he  insisted  that  in  the  distribution  of  the  Con- 
ference collections,  and  the  quarterage  on  the  circuits,  the  law 
of  the  Church  gave  to  every  legal  claimant  his  pro  rata  share; 
and  that  in  neither  case  had  the  stewards  the  right  to  constitute 
themselves  a  committee  on  necessitous  cases  and  divide  the 
funds  at  their  discretion;  that  if  a  preacher  was  rich,  this  did 
not  effect  his  lawful  claims,  and  that  he  preferred  to  be  the 
almoner  of  his  own  money.  He  admitted  that  the  Conference 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  373 

could  appoint  a  committee  on  necessitous  cases,  who  could 
appropriate  such  funds  as  might  be  obtained  for  this  purpose; 
but  the  money  raised  according  to  the  Discipline  is  not  of  this 
kind,  and  therefore  by  right  belongs  to  the  regular  claimants. 
In  this  he  was  undoubtedly  correct;  but,  on  account  of  these 
views,  there  was  said  to  be  opposition  to  his  being  sent  to  his 
old  district  as  presiding  elder.  Bishop  McKendree,  no  doubt, 
understood  it  all,  and  coincided  with  Douglass  as  to  the  law 
of  the  Church,  yet  was  distressed  because  by  appointing  him 
to  the  district  he  would  seem  to  disregard  the  wishes  of  the 
stewards,  and  in  rejecting  him  would  not  only  lose  the  best  man 
for  the  position,  but  appear  to  sanction  a  departure  from  the 
rule  of  the  Discipline.  After  revolving  the  subject  anxiously 
and  maturely,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  appoint  him  to  the  office. 
In  this  he  certainly  did  right,  and  his  decision  was  fully  vindi- 
cated, for  Brother  Douglass  was  continued  on  the  district  dur- 
ing four  years,  with  increasing  popularity  and  usefulness.  Then, 
full  of  years  and  weighed  down  with  infirmities,  he  retired  from 
the  effective  ranks  which  he  entered  in  1801.  In  1843  he  closed 
his  life  in  peace,  honored  for  his  talents  and  usefulness  and 
loved  for  his  many  virtues. 

While  at  the  Tennessee  Conference,  Bishop  McKendree 
dispatched  to  each  of  his  colleagues  the  following  document, 
giving  his  views  of  the  rights  and  duties  of  ministers  and  the 
proper  manner  of  trying  members  according  to  the  Discipline 
and  Scripture.  It  was  addressed  to  the  bishops  and,  if  they 
approved  of  it,  to  the  preachers  generally.  We  do  not  know 
whether  the  other  bishops  concurred  in  his  views  or  whether  it 
was  ever  submitted  by  them  to  the  Annual  Conferences.  It 
presents  his  matured  views  and  was  his  last  attempt  to  bring 
about  a  consistent  and  uniform  administration  of  the  Discipline 
in  the  premises: 

Beloved  Brother:  In  passing  through  our  work  here  and  there,  our  at- 
tention is  frequently  arrested  and  called  to  notice  the  course  pursued  in 
the  administration  of  discipline;  and  we  apprehend  there  is  a  danger,  in  some 
instances,  of  a  departure  from  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  rule,  both  to  the 
injury  of  individuals  and  the  work  generally.  We  have  therefore  thought 
it  advisable  that  something  be  done,  both  to  preserve  the  execution  of  dis- 
cipline in  its  purity,  and  to  maintain  uniformity  of  procedure  throughout 
our  societies;  and.  as  the  bishops  are  responsible  for  a  correct  administra- 
tion of  the  government,  it  would  seem  to  us  that  it  is  our  business  to  unite 
in  such  a  course  as  will  have  a  tendency  both  to  correct  errors  and  abuses 
and  harmonize  the  views  of  our  preachers  on  this  all-important  subject. 


374  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

In  view  of  this  object,  the  accompanying  address  has  been  drawn  up,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  presented  to  the  preachers  in  the  Annual  Conferences. 
There  may  be  some  things  needing  correction  not  noticed  in  this  address, 
but  those  which  are  mentioned  are,  to  us,  very  evidently  of  high  importance. 
They  are  submitted  to  you  for  inspection  and  concurrence.  Explanations 
of  this  kind  cannot  be  given  with  propriety  or  authority,  in  the  intervals 
of  General  Conference,  except  from  the  episcopacy;  and  we  shall  be  greatly 
strengthened  and  sustained  therein  by  consulting  and  knowing  that  old 
men  and  men  of  experience  approve  and  concur  with  us  in  those  things. 
With  continued  prayers  to  Almighty  God  that  he  may  prosper  and  bless 
you  in  all  your  labors  in  his  vineyard,  we  remain,  as  ever,  your  brethren  in 
the  love  and  fellowship  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

To  the  preachers  and  brethren  whose  duty  it  may  be  to  execute  the  discipline  of  our  Church. 

Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord:  It  is  admitted  to  be  the  glory  of  Methodism 
that  it  is  virtually  the  same  in  every  part  of  the  world;  our  doctrines  are 
the  same  both  in  Europe  and  America;  our  discipline  the  same  throughout 
the  United  States;  and  the  execution  of  discipline,  or  the  administration 
of  the  government  of  the  Church,  ought  to  be  the  same  throughout  the  so- 
cieties. In  this  respect,  however,  we  have  found  considerable  difference 
of  sentiment  and  practice,  owing,  it  is  presumable,  to  the  different  circum- 
stances and  situation  of  things  in  different  sections  of  our  widely  extended 
field  of  labor.  It  is  therefore  thought  proper  that  a  short  explanatory  view 
of  our  rules  for  conducting  the  trials  of  preachers  and  members  in  our 
Church  should  be  presented  to  you  for  the  all-important  purpose  of  pre- 
serving and  maintaining,  if  possible,  a  uniform  practice  among  us  in  every 
respect  conformable  to  our  excellent  system  of  discipline. 

As  the  grand  object  of  the  gospel  is  to  save  men,  consequently  the  de- 
sign of  gospel  discipline  is  to  convict,  reform,  and  fit  them  for  happiness, 
and  not  to  destroy  or  render  them  subjects  of  misery.  In  the  execution  of 
discipline,  punishment  or  expulsion  in  the  last  operation  consequent  upon 
man's  continuance  in  unbelief  and  crime,  and  this  is  a  painful  work  to  the 
administrator.  When  our  Lord  pronounced  sentence  against  the  Jewish 
nation,  he  wept.  Luke  xix.  41-44. 

St.  Paul  suffered  much  persecution  from  the  backslidden  Corinthians, 
but  he  preserved  in  the  exercise  of  gospel  discipline  by  applying  the  doc- 
trines of  justice  to  convict  and  mercy  to  encourage  a  return  to  reformation 
until  he  succeeded  and  triumphed  in  their  salvation.  (See  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians.) 

In  conformity  to  this  view  of  gospel  discipline,  our  rules  and  regulations 
are  carried  into  operation  with  the  explicit  understanding  that  crimes  are 
divided  into  two  classes:  The  first  comprehends  all  such  as  are  "expressly 
forbidden  in  the  Word  of  God"  (see  Discipline,  p.  68);  and  to  this  class 
only  is  the  act  of  punishment  or  expulsion  extended  in  the  first  instance  of 
the  exercise  of  discipline.  The  second  class  of  crimes  comprehends  neglect 
of  duties,  etc.  (See  Book  of  Discipline,  p.  70.)  In  all  such  cases,  the  first 
step  in  the  exercise  of  discipline  is  private  reproof,  given  by  some  one  hav- 
ing the  charge  over  the  supposed  offender;  and  if  there  be  an  acknowledg- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  375 

ment,  etc.,  the  person  is  to  be  borne  with.  On  a  second  offense — that  is, 
on  the  crime  being  repeated — one  or  two  faithful  friends  are  to  be  taken, 
and  if  the  person  be  not  then  cured,  the  case  is  to  be  brought  before  the 
Church,  as  the  Discipline  directs;  and  if  there  be  no  sign  of  real  humiliation, 
he  must  be  cut  off.  And  when  a  person  is  clearly  convicted  of  such  a  crime 
or  crimes,  nothing  short  of  expulsion  will  satisfy  the  rule,  unless  there  be 
such  a  manifestation  of  genuine  repentance  and  humiliation  as  will  justify 
the  extension  of  pardon  to  the  offending  person;  in  such  case,  the  connec- 
tion between  crime  and  its  punishment  is  dissolved.  Such  cases  may  pos- 
sibly occur,  and  when  they  do,  much  care  and  prudence- is  necessary  to 
guard  the  Church  from  reproach  and  injury  and  at  the  same  time  save  the 
offender.  In  all  cases  of  the  second  class  of  crime,  the  first  and  second  steps 
ought  to  be  taken  previously  to  bringing  the  offender  before  the  Church, 
and  the  continual  intention  should  be  to  "save  a  soul  from  death"  and  the 
Church  from  reproach  and  influence  of  bad  example  consequent  on  hold- 
ing persons  guilty  of  crime  in  fellowship.  James  v.  20;  Jude  20-25. 

The  Discipline,  when  rightly  understood,  in  connection  with  the  nature 
of  our  episcopal  government,  very  clearly  points  out  the  mode  of  trial  to  be 
pursued  in  regard  to  the  different  grades  in  the  ministry,  and  also  the  pri- 
vate members;  and  there  are  some  important  principles  closely  connected 
with  the  administration  of  discipline  which  should  never  be  forgotten. 

A  bishop  or  superintendent,  having  the  general  oversight  of  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  concerns  of  the  Church,  is,  of  course,  authorized  to  attend  to 
any  and  all  matters,  small  and  great,  in  the  execution  of  discipline. 

A  presiding  elder,  who  is,  in  fact,  the  agent  of  the  bishop,  is,  in  virtue  of 
his  appointment,  authorized  to  exercise  episcopal  authority  within  the 
limits  of  his  district  (ordination  excepted) ;  consequently  it  is  his  business, 
when  present,  fully  to  attend  to  every  part  of  the  execution  of  discipline. 

The  assistant  preacher  is  indeed  the  presiding  elder's  aid  and  has  the 
more  particular  oversight  and  care  of  the  circuit  or  station  to  which  he  is 
appointed.  (See  his  duties  as  contained  in  the  Discipline,  p.  39.) 

The  helper  is  one  placed  on  a  circuit  or  station  with  the  assistant  and  is 
under  his  direction  in  anything  he  may  do  in  the  execution  of  discipline. 

The  class  leader  is  restricted  to  his  own  class;  and,  if  active  and  zealous, 
may  do  much  for  God  and  souls  in  keeping  up  order  and  discipline  therein. 

It  should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  privileges  of  our  ministers  and 
preachers  of  trial  by  a  committee  and  of  an  appeal  and  the  privileges  of 
our  members  of  trial  before  the  society  or  by  a  committee  and  of  an  appeal 
are  sacredly  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Constitution  of  our  Church. 

The  great  object  of  committees  is  to  attend  to  complaints  or  charges  in 
the  intervals  of  Conferences  and  thereby  rescue  the  character  of  innocent 
brethren,  wrongfully  accused,  from  injury  and  preserve  their  usefulness 
by  acquitting  them  when  not  found  guilty;  and,  if  judged  to  be  guilty,  to 
save  the  Church  from  reproach  and  injury  by  suspending  them  until  the 
ensuing  Conference.  The  suspending  power  is  clearly  restricted  to  such 
crimes  as  are  expressly  forbidden  in  the  Word  of  God  and  to  such  as  are 
persisted  in  after  gospel  reproof  and  admonition  have  been  given.  And  it 


376  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

may  be  further  remarked  that  neither  the  organization  of  a  committee  nor 
any  of  its  acts  can  abridge  the  powers  of  a  Conference  when  they  after- 
wards come  to  act  on  the  same  case;  and  should  a  case  occur  at  or  during 
the  sitting  of  Conference,  or  although  known  of  be  neglected;  or  if  it  should 
be  of  such  a  recent  date  as  not  to  afford  time  to  call  a  committee,  and 
should  then  be  brought  before  the  Conference,  there  is  nothing  in  disci- 
pline or  reason  to  prevent  the  Conference  from  hearing  and  deciding  there- 
on without  the  intervention  of  a  committee,  and  especially  if  the  person 
accused  desire  it.  But,  as  the  Conference  has  the  entire  control  of  all  cases 
in  which  its  own  members  are  concerned,  subject  to  the  order  of  discipline, 
they  may,  or  they  may  not,  appoint  a  committee,  as  they  may  judge  prop- 
er; but  they  cannot,  in  any  case,  transfer  their  authority  as  a  Conference. 
The  committee  can  only  acquit  if  not  guilty  or  suspend  if  guilty,  and  if  sus- 
pended the  Conference  must  finally  determine  the  case.  The  accused 
ought  always  to  have  timely  notice  to  prepare  for  trial;  and,  while  on  one 
hand,  the  administrator  of  discipline  does  not  rule  him  to  trial  unprepared, 
so,  on  the  other  hand,  he  ought  not  to  put  off  or  lay  over  the  trial  of  a  case 
without  good  reasons. 

The  assistant  preacher  in  a  circuit  or  station  is  invested  with  full  power 
to  oversee  all  the  concerns  of  the  Church  as  far  as  his  jurisdiction  extends 
in  attending  to  the  complaints  and  wants  of  each  member  without  par- 
tiality and  very  strictly,  but  mildly,  enforce  every  part  of  the  Discipline 
as  occasion  may  require.  If  he  obtains  a  knowledge  of  any  misconduct  or 
violation  of  discipline  by  any  of  his  members  or  preachers,  it  is  his  duty, 
as  soon  as  possible,  to  attend  to  the  case  and  have  it  settled,  without  wait- 
ing for  a  formal  charge  to  be  handed  to  him.  He  himself  must  act  in  be- 
half of  the  Church,  as  God's  minister  appointed  to  that  work.  Ezekiel  iii. 
17;  xxxiii  7;  1  Corinthians  v.  1-5;  Revelation  ii.  1,  2, 12-15, 18-20;  Hebrews 
xffi.  7, 17. 

No  person  ought  to  be  permitted  to  come  forward  in  the  character  of  a 
prosecutor.  Such  a  character  is  not  known  of  in  all  our  economy.  The 
accuser  is  to  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  accused.  If  this  cannot  be 
done,  "let  the  next  best  evidence  be  procured;  consequently,  the  accuser  is 
the  very  best  evidence  in  the  case.  An  aggrieved  person  may  be  a  com- 
plainant; but  our  Discipline  does  not  recognize  anyone  as  an  accuser,  un- 
less he  be  a  witness  in  the  case  against  the  accused.  Any  and  all  testimony 
offered  on  the  trial  of  a  case  ought  to  be  read  or  heard;  but  if  any  be  of 
doubtful  character,  the  Church  is  at  liberty  to  give  it  as  much  weight  as 
they  think  it  deserves.  We  have  no  rule  making  it  illegal  to  admit  what 
is  called  ex  parte  evidence.  No  accused  preacher  or  member  ought  to  be 
suspended  or  expelled  unless  found  guilty  by  a  majority  of  those  by  whom 
he  is  tried.  On  taking  a  vote,  the  question  ought  always  be  put  in  the  pos- 
itive. If  any  accused  person  has  any  well-grounded  objection  to  anyone 
called  to  sit  on  his  trial,  a  prudent  and  judicious  administrator  would  leave 
out  the  person  objected  to,  and,  if  necessary,  supply  the  place  with  another. 
But  the  right  of  challenge,  so  called,  is  not  recognized  in  our  Discipline.  We 
do  not  think  it  advisable  or  consistent  with  propriety  or  the  nature  of 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  377 

things  that  a  person  should  vote  in  the  same  case  in  condemnation  of  an 
accused  person,  both  in  the  society  or  select  number,  or  on  a  committee 
and  in  Conference,  or  in  more  then  one  Conference  where  appeals  are  taken. 
We  think  it  prudent  and  a  mark  of  sound  judgment  to  pay  due  respect  to 
the  opinions  and  advice  of  the  aged  who  have  had  experience,  because  from 
such  it  is  expected  that  a  knowledge  of  primitive  usage  and  custom  may  be 
obtained;  and  in  every  point  there  ought  to  be  frequent  recurrence  to  first 
principles.  These  are  generally  best  expressed  in  the  original  words  which 
contain  them.  Observe  well  the  old  landmarks,  inquire  after  the  old 
paths  and  rally  around  the  old  standards,  the  standards  of  our  fathers. 

The  careful  reader  will  perceive  a  discrepancy  between  some 
things  in  the  above  document  and  Brother  Crouch's  remarks 
as  to  the  Bishop's  sentiments  about  his  authority  to  preside  in 
a  quarterly  meeting  Conference,  if  Brother  Crouch  did  not 
mistake  his  unwillingness  to  do  so  under  ordinary  circumstances 
for  an  avowal  of  his  want  of  authority  to  do  it  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. I  suppose  our  fathers  generally  agreed  with  the 
views  set  forth  on  this  point  in  this  document.  Bishop  Asbury, 
it  is  said,  coincided  with  Bishop  McKendree. 

The  Bishop  was  evidently  much  exhausted  at  this  Confer- 
ence and  returned  to  Nashville  slowly,  stopping  to  rest  on  the 
way  at  Brother  Douglass's  and  other  old  homes.  We  hear  from 
him,  however,  on  the  first  Sunday  of  December,  preaching  a 
very  clear  and  impressive  sermon  in  Nashville  and  admin- 
istering the  Holy  Eucharist.  On  December  25,  he  preached 
in  the  same  place  on  Luke  ii.  8-14  (see  Appendix),  and  again 
holding  a  watch  meeting  in  the  same  church  on  the  last  night 
of  the  year  1833,  addressing  a  large  audience  on  "the  goodness 
of  God,"  and  closing  the  meeting  with  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

He  now  resumed  his  habit  of  keeping  a  Journal,  and  says: 

"For  several  years  I  have  not  been  able  to  travel  and  preach 
as  formerly,  and  therefore  had  no  matter  for  a  Journal  except 
my  own  experience  as  an  afflicted  man;  but  as  I  am  yet  spared, 
I  will  notice  some  of  the  displays  of  Divine  goodness  for  my 
own  comfort  and  improvement. 

"On  Wednesday  evening,  December  31,  1833,  I  attended  a 
watch  night  in  the  new  church  in  Nashville.  It  was  a  solemn 
time.  I  felt  my  spiritual  strength  renewed.  I  returned  with 
Brother  Hill  and  his  family,  and  at  four  o'clock  I  arose  refreshed 
and  in  a  comfortable  state  of  health. 

"About  ten  o'clock,  January  1,  1834,  took  passage  on  the 
spacious  steamer  Tennesseean,  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas 
P.  Minor.  The  river  was  low.  We  arrived  at  the  Harpeth 


378  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Shoals  in  the  evening.  The  steamer  Pacific  was  aground.  We 
put  off  one  hundred  and  ninety  bales  of  cotton  and  succeeded 
with  difficulty  in  getting  over  the  shoals. 

"Thursday,  January  2,  was  a  cold,  snowy  day.  We  had 
about  fifty  cabin  passengers,  a  very  agreeable  set,  and  one 
hundred  deck  passengers. 

"Friday,  January  8. — Last  night  was  very  cold;  at  ten 
o'clock  at  the  mouth  of  Cumberland  River. 

"Sunday,  January  5. — The  thermometer  was  below  zero. 
At  three  o'clock  I  preached  to  an  attentive  congregation,  on 
Hebrews  ix.  27. 

"Monday,  January  6. — Large  addition  of  freight  and  pas- 
sengers. Rrver  covered  with  ice,  breaking  the  paddles  and  arms 
of  the  boat. 

"  Thursday,  January  9. — Abundance  of  ice  coming  down  the 
Mississippi  River;  the  captain  thinks  it  the  hardest  freeze  he 
ever  saw  from  so  short  a  spell;  so  foggy,  could  not  run  at  night. 

"Friday,  January  10. — Passed  Memphis;  foggy. 

"Saturday. — Foggy;  laid  by  at  night,  and  until  6  A.M. 

"Sunday,  January  12. — Preached  from  Romans  vi.  23. 
The  hearers  serious  and  attentive.  Hope  for  good. 

"Monday,  January  IS. — Boat  ran  all  night  for  the  first  time; 
ice  in  the  morning  three-fourths  of  an  inch  thick. 

"Tuesday,  January  14- — At  Vicksburg.  The  stationed 
preacher  at  this  place  (C.  K.  Marshall)  came  on  board;  had  an 
interesting  conversation  with  him  on  different  subjects  for  nearly 
two  hours.  There  is  a  meeting  house  and  a  flourishing  society 
in  this  town  and  a  circuit  in  the  neighborhood  of  several  hun- 
dred members.  Yesterday  a  duel  was  fought  across  the  river, 
a  man  was  dangerously  wounded. 

" Wednesday,  January  15. — Arrived  at  Natchez  5  A.M.; 
found  myself  in  a  deplorable  condition.  It  seems  of  twenty- 
seven  days  there  have  been  but  two  fair  days;  mud  in  the 
streets  knee-deep,  shoe-deep  on  sidewalks. 

"For  my  passage  I  paid  $20;  to  waiters  on  boat,  $1.75;  to 
porter,  50  cents;  waded  shoe-deep  in  mud  to  tavern;  for  riding 
in  dirty  hack,  $1.  Got  to  my  old  friend  Dr.  Tooley's;  found  all 
well;  met  with  a  hearty  welcome,"  etc. 

Here  was  a  trip  of  fifteen  days  from  Nashville  to  Natchez! 
He  was  now  in  good  quarters,  but  mud  and  weather  bound. 
Preached  on  Sunday,  January  19,  to  white  people  in  the  fore- 
noon and  to  large  colored  congregation  at  three  o'clock.  A 
profitable  time! 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  379 

"Sunday  January  26. — Another  rainy  week.  Dr.  Tooley 
preached  an  ingenuous  sermon  from  Genesis  i.  22,  23,  24. 

"Tuesday,  January  28. — Very  cold  for  this  climate;  rain, 
snow,  and  sleet;  but  I  am  comfortable;  excellent  coffee  every 
morning  at  six  o'clock  greatly  relieves  me  of  headache. 

"Sunday,  February  2. — Got  to  meeting;  heard  the  stationed 
preacher,  Brother  F.  A.  Owen.  I  administered  the  Sacrament; 
a  profitable  meeting.  Sacrament  to  the  colored  members  at 
three  o'clock. 

"  Tuesday,  February  4- — Judge  Edmund  McGehee  and  John 
C.  Burruss  called  to  see  me." 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Burruss  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  removed  to 
North  Alabama  in  1819,  and  settled  near  Huntsville,  where  his 
talents  and  family  position  gave  him  great  influence.  He  was 
a  very  fluent  and  impressive  preacher,  of  fine  address,  and  un- 
usually agreeable  social  qualities.  At  the  time  this  interview 
occurred,  he  was  in  charge  of  Wilkinson  Circuit,  in  Mississippi, 
and  was  the  father-in-law  of  Judge  McGehee.  The  Bishop's 
Journal  states  at  length  certain  events  in  his  early  history  in 
connection  with  Mr.  O'Kelly's  proselyting  and  schismatical 
course  in  Williamsburg  and  Hanover  Circuits,  Va.,  in  1796-97, 
and  the  Bishop's  success  in  counteracting  his  efforts  was  brought 
to  his  recollection  by  Brother  Burruss. 

Under  date  of  February  6,  he  notices  the  fact  that  although 
he  had  been  in  Natchez  twenty-two  days,  he  had  preached  only 
twice,  the  state  of  the  weather  and  the  streets  preventing,  but, 
assisted  by  Dr.  Tooley,  had  paid  many  visits  to  the  poor  and 
afflicted.  He  says:  "Our  method  was  to  introduce  religious 
conversation  at  once;  after  this,  prayer;  commit  them  to  God, 
and  take  our  leave.  .  .  .  The  visiting  of  families  to  dine  or  take 
tea,  I  designedly  avoided: 

"  1.  Because  I  doubt  if  the  minister's  time  is  most  profitable 
spent  in  that  way. 

"2.  Whether  social  intercourse  of  this  kind  promotes  family 
piety  as  much  as  purely  religious  visits. 

"3.  Unless  the  rich  and  poor  are  treated  alike,  the  latter  is 
liable  to  think  the  minister  partial. 

"Friday,  February  7. — Dr.  Tooley  took  me  seven  miles  to 
Washington.  I  put  up  with  Brother  Miles  Harper,  a  friend  of 
more  than  thirty  years'  acquaintance.  Here  I  was  comforted 
with  temporal,  social,  and  spiritual  blessings. 

"Sunday,  February  9. — Preached  to  a  large  and  attentive 


380  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

audience  on  Psalm  xxiii.  1.  Hope  good  was  done.  In  the  after- 
noon returned  to  Dr.  Tooley's. 

"At  eight  o'clock,  Monday,  February  10,  left  Dr.  Tooley's 
in  a  hired  hack  for  Judge  McGehee's,  Wilkinson  County,  Miss. 
Brother  Owen  offered  to  go  with  me;  I  thought  it  unnecessary, 
but  he  persisted.  Soon  I  was  thankful  for  his  kind  attention. 
For  seventeen  miles  the  road  was  pretty  good;  but  after  crossing 
the  Homochitto  River,  the  mud  was  very  deep,  and  the  horses 
refused  to  pull  and,  after  taking  them  from  the  carriage,  Brother 
Owen  and  the  driver  carried  it  by  hand  to  the  level  of  the  bridge, 
from  whence  the  horses  took  it  to  the  next  bad  place.  Got  to 
Brother  Grooms's,  and  stayed  all  night. 

"Tuesday,  February  11. — We  left  before  eight  o'clock,  and 
went  fifteen  miles  to  Judge  McGehee's  by  3  P.M.,  through 
horribly  muddy  roads.  All  glad  to  see  us. 

"Wednesday,  February  12. — Very  sore  to-day  from  yester- 
day's work. 

"  Thursday,  February  13. — My  head  very  much  disordered. 

"Sunday,  February  16. — Preached  in  Woodville  on  Galatians 
vi.  9.  The  Church  here  in  a  very  formal  state. 

"Wednesday,  February  19. — Last  night  had  another  slight 
shock  of  what  I  consider  as  paralysis.  My  physicians  reject 
this  idea,  but  I  regard  it,  as  I  have  for  years,  as  gentle  visitations 
of  paralysis,  and  apprehend  it  may  terminate  in  death,  and  am 
therefore  admonished  to  'be  always  ready/ 

"Sunday,  February  23. — Quite  unwell;  preached,  left  pulpit 
very  feeble.  Dined  with  Brother  Chew;  lectured  at  night  at 
Brother  McGehee's  to  a  number  of  colored  people  on  Isaiah 
xii.  Weary. 

"I  fear  the  societies  in  this  quarter  have  but  little  of  the 
power  of  religion;  yet  the  families  where  I  have  been  appear  to 
attend  regularly  to  the  form." 

His  last  entry  in  this  Journal  is,  "Monday,  February  24, 
my  health  is  better,  my  strength  increasing." 

After  spending  a  short  time  in  Woodville  and  its  vicinity 
enjoying  the  princely  hospitality  of  the  Judge  and  his  excellent 
family,  he  continued  his  trip  to  New  Orleans.  He  had  ever 
manifested  much  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  this  city, 
which  he  foresaw  was  destined  to  become  the  great  mart  of 
Southwestern  commerce.  Having  returned  to  Natchez,  he 
there  took  passage  for  Nashville  on  the  same  boat,  Tennesseean, 
about  April  18.  The  following  characteritsic  note  was  addressed 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  381 

to  the  stationed  preacher  and  shows  his  constant  vigilance  as 
a  supervisor  of  the  preachers  and  the  Church  generally: 

NATCHEZ  Miss,  April  16,  1834. 

Dear  Brother  Owen:  For  a  stationed  preacher  regularly  to  attend  to  his 
appointments  for  preaching,  class  meeting,  and  visiting  the  sick  from 
house  to  house  is  his  indispensable  duty.  But  the  spirit  of  enterprise  will 
carry  him  further.  Were  you  to  select  proper  places  for  preaching  and 
prayer  meetings  in  private  houses,  much  good  might  be  done;  and  if  the 
flat-bottom  boats  were  to  be  visited  with  sermons,  the  good  effects  are  be- 
yond calculation.  On  these  boats  there  are  some  religious  persons  and 
some  well  disposed  to  religion  that  would  be  instructed  and  built  up,  in- 
stead of  losing  their  good  desires,  and  seed  might  be  sown  among  the  care- 
less to  bring  forth  fruit  and  spread  the  gospel  in  their  neighborhoods  on 
their  return  home.  The  correctness  of  these  sentiments  has  been  realized 
among  us.  You  have  a  fair  opportunity  to  make  the  experiment,  and  I 
think  it  will  be  inexcusable  if  you  do  not. 

Brother  Owen  joined  the  Tennessee  Conference  in  1822,  was 
a  superintendent  of  the  missions  to  the  Cherokee  Indians,  a 
delegate  to  several  General  Conferences,  Agent  of  the  Southern 
Methodist  Publishing  House,  besides  filling  many  important 
appointments  in  the  regular  itinerant  work.  He  is  yet  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Memphis  Conference,  and  doing  service  in  the 
Mississippi  Bottom  District. 

On  May  10,  1834,  the  Bishop  preached  an  unusually  long 
and  interesting  sermon  in  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  and  he  officiated  at 
the  communion  and  was  in  pretty  good  health  for  him.  Through 
the  spring  and  summer  he  continued  to  preach  and  visited  as 
much  as  he  could,  and  Dr.  Green  gives  a  very  interesting 
account  of  his  last  camp  meeting: 

It  was  in  Sumner  County,  at  Old  Salem;  and  we  were  also  favored  with 
the  presence  of  the  Rev.  William  Burke.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  them 
meet.  They  held  each  other's  grasp  for  some  time,  the  Bishop  saying,  "  I 
am  happy  to  see  you  once  more  at  camp  meeting,"  while  Mr.  Burke  says: 
"  We  have  camped  together  before,  Bishop."  Tears  came  into  their  eyes. 
They  talked  together  by  the  hour  of  other  days,  with  an  evident  pleasure 
which  was  refreshing  to  observe.  Mr.  Burke  was  not  at  that  time  in  con- 
nection wiuh  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  was  the  pastor  of  an 
independent  congregation  in  Cincinnati;  yet  I  put  him  up  to  preach,  so 
that  the  thousands  that  attended  the  meeting  had  the  great  pleasure  of 
hearing  each  of  these  old  veterans  preach  once  a  day  for  three  successive 
days;  and  I  would  perform  a  pilgrimage  now  to  enjoy  such  a  privilege. 

Soon  after  this  meeting  was  over,  the  Bishop  said  to  me:  "I  would  like 
to  live  until  next  General  Conference,  for  one  thing."  "What  is  that, 
Bishop?"  "I  want  to  see  Brother  Burke  back  again  in  his  place  in  the 


382  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Church."    Although  the  Bishop  did  not  live  to  attend  the  Conference,  Mr  * 
Burke  was  restored,  and  died  in  the  Church. 

The  last  Conference  this  good  and  venerable  man  of  God 
attended  was  the  Tennessee,  held  in  Lebanon,  November  5, 
1834.  It  was  an  affecting  sight  to  witness  the  reverence  and 
filial  affection  of  the  Conference  toward  him.  He  had  set  apart 
most  of  the  members  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  had  baptized 
many  of  them  in  their  infancy.  Their  fathers  had  known  and 
loved  him.  He  had  been  the  organizer  and  defender  of  Method- 
ism in  the  West,  a  pioneer  presiding  elder  in  1800,  when  his 
district  was  an  empire  in  extent,  embracing  all  "the  Western 
country."  He  had  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  privations  of 
frontier  life,  whether  traversing  the  wilderness,  in  the  wigwam 
of  the  Indian,  or  in  the  cabin  of  the  white  pioneer,  to  unceasing 
travel  over  mountains  and  plains,  through  the  rains,  snows,  and 
sleets  of  winter,  and  the  drought,  heat,  and  malaria  of  the  South 
in  summer.  He  had  instructed,  guided,  and  governed  the 
young  and  feeble,  animated  the  desponding;  had  been  always 
in  the  front  rank,  charging  against  the  strongholds  of  sin  and 
Satan,  himself  never  dismayed  or  despondent,  but  ever  brave 
and  true.  Far-seeing,  calm,  and  unselfish,  their  oracle  in  Church 
polity,  and  never  descending  to  draggle  himself  or  others  in  the 
cesspool  of  partisan  politics;  "without  partiality  and  without 
hypocrisy;"  loving  devotedly  the  Church,  the  whole  Church, 
its  doctrines,  its  simple  and  significant  scriptural  formularies, 
its  governments,  especially  its  itinerancy,  because  of  its  ef- 
ficiency in  spreading  the  gospel  among  the  poor  and  destitute; 
for  these  eminent  qualities,  and  lastly,  for  his  unchallenged 
purity,  he  ought  to  have  been,  and  was,  revered  and  loved  as  a 
father. 

The  Conference  was  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the 
Bishop  could  not  live  much  longer;  for,  while  his  mind  seemed 
clear  and  vigorous  when  aroused,  yet  its  tabernacle  was  evi- 
dently falling  away.  All  knew  that,  while  his  life  had  not  been 
marked  by  any  startling  events,  yet  it  was  very  desirable  to 
have  the  history  of  it,  for  the  instruction  of  themselves  and  the 
edification  of  the  Church.  The  following  preamble  and  reso- 
lutions were  therefore  presented  by  R.  Paine  and  T.  L.  Douglass, 
and  adopted: 

Whereas  our  venerable  and  beloved  brother,  Bishop  McKendree,  is 
now  far  advanced  in  the  decline  of  life  and  is  almost  the  only  remaining 
minister  among  us  of  the  early  race  of  Methodist  preachers  in  America; 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  383 

and  whereas  he  possesses  much  valuable  and  interesting  information  in 
relation  to  the  organization  and  government  of  the  Church  in  these  United 
States,  the  spread  of  the  work  of  God,  especially  in  the  West  and  South, 
the  lives  and  labors  of  many  of  his  copartners  in  the  ministry,  and  much 
other  information  which  may  be  useful;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  to  wait  on  Bishop 
McKendree  and  respectfully  request  him  to  prepare,  or  have  prepared, 
for  publication  so  soon  as  convenient,  such  a  history  of  his  own  life,  and 
such  information  on  the  various  points  suggested  above,  as  he  may  deem 
proper  and  expedient. 

Whereupon,  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  James  Gwin,  Lewis  Garrett,  Robert 
Paine,  Alexander  L.  P.  Green,  Greenville  T.  Henderson,  and  George  W.  D. 
Harris  were  appointed  a  committee  to  carry  said  resolutions  into  effect. 

The  committee  appointed  to  wait  on  Bishop  McKendree  report  that,  in 
compliance  with  the  foregoing  resolution,  they  have  waited  upon  him 
and  acquainted  him  with  the  request  of  the  Conference  as  directed.  In 
reply,  the  Bishop  states  that  he  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Church,  that 
it  has  a  right  to  claim  his  services,  even  to  the  dregs,  and  that  he  will  en- 
deavor to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  Conference  as  he  may  be  able 
and  find  it  convenient  and  practicable.  T.  L.  DOUGLASS,  Chairman. 

LEBANON  CONFERENCE,  November  14,  1834. 

The  following  document  explains  itself;  and  as  it  refers  to 
the  preceding  communication,  and  is  probably  the  last  he  ever 
wrote,  it  is  inserted  here.  The  original  very  clearly  exhibits  a 
marked  change  in  his  penmanship;  and  toward  the  close,  he 
fails  to  keep  in  parallel  lines,  running  them  diagonally  across 
the  sheet  of  paper. 

AT  BROTHER  ELLISTON'S,  December  1, 1834. 

When  I  set  out  to  preach  the  gospel,  I  commenced  a  regular  Journal  of 
my  life  and  ministerial  labors.  This  was  continued  a  number  of  years, 
Until  my  papers  were  consumed  in  a  house  that  was  burned  down.  By 
this  time  I  had  observed  such  a  sameness  in  this  kind  of  writings  that  its 
utility  was  greatly  depreciated  in  my  estimation.  My  lot,  too,  seemed 
fixed  in  an  old,  settled  country,  where  religious  exercises  were  so  familiar 
as  to  afford  no  material  of  sufficient  importance  to  interest  the  public  mind. 
My  own  experience  was  common  among  Christians,  therefore  though  my 
mind  was  deeply  impressed  with  many  occurrences,  they  did  not  appear 
to  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  interest  or  profit  either  the  Church  or  the 
world.  I  concluded  that  my  time  would  be  better  employed  in  discharg- 
ing the  various  duties  assigned  me  as  a  Methodist  preacher.  My  field  of 
labor  constantly  enlarging,  I  gave  up  my  Journal  and  devoted  all  my  time 
to  my  regular  work.  For  this  omission  I  had  many  checks  during  thirty 
years,  have  made  some  ineffectual  attempts  to  resume  it,  but  have  con- 
tinued my  course.  Some  time  before  the  late  Tennessee  Conference,  I  was 
earnestly  addressed  upon  this  subject  by  individuals.  I  objected  to  the 
want  of  strength  of  body  and  mind  for  the  work,  but  wa,s  met  with  assur- 


384  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ances  of  such  assistance  as  would  need  only  the  outlines  of  the  plan,  with 
suitable  items,  and  the  work  would  be  done  without  burdening  me.  This 
it  was  thought,  I  could  do.  I  approved  of  the  plan  and  consented  to  do 
what  I  could.  But  instead  of  meeting  my  expectations  they  contented 
themselves  with  telling  me  what  to  do.  I  therefore  abandoned  the  hope 
of  help  from  them.  Yet,  as  I  have  come  under  obligation  by  promise,  I 
shall  do  what  I  can,  which  will  be  very  little,  very  little.  Since  the  Tennessee 
Conference,  one  or  two  have  proffered  to  assist  me,  on  condition  that  I 
would  wait  on  them  at  suitable  times.  I  shall  neither  seek  nor  go  one  mile 
out  of  my  way  for  assistance,  but  will  do  what  I  can  and  dispose  of  it  as 
may  seem  best.  W.  McKENDREE. 

Like  old  men  generally,  he  miscalculated  his  strength. 
"Will  do  what  I  can."  Alas!  he  could  do  no  more.  That 
hitherto  indomitable  will  which  had  impelled  a  body  emaciated 
and  enfeebled  by  age  and  sufferings  to  continue  to  travel  and 
preach  when  it  should  have  been  resting  could  no  longer  drive 
the  physical  machinery;  and  even  that  mind,  once  so  elastic, 
so  clear,  and  so  vigorous,  always  planning  and  working  for 
God  and  the  Church,  was  wearied  and  found  it  impossible  to 
isolate  itself  from  its  frail  tabernacle.  "Very  little"  indeed 
could  he  do  in  any  other  thing,  and  as  to  writing  his  history, 
sketching  the  lives  of  his  colaborers,  and  the  wonderful  progress 
of  the  Church  for  forty  eventful  years,  he  could  absolutely 
do  nothing.  It  would  have  been  an  impracticable  task  for  the 
most  competent  member  of  the  Conference  to  collect  the 
material,  assort  and  arrange  the  chaotic  mass  of  his  papers 
between  the  time  of  the  Conference  and  his  death.  It  ought  to 
have  been  begun  years  before.  The  fact  is,  it  could  never  have 
been  done  by  him  unless  he  had  been  imprisoned.  He  would  go 
to  the  last,  and  only  ceased  to  go  when  compelled  to  stop; 
then  body  and  mind  both  protested:  "Too  late!"  And  for  this 
neither  he  nor  anyone  else  is  to  be  blamed. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Bishop  McKendree  leaves  all  his  papers  to  Bishop  Soul  and  T.  L.  Doug- 
lass— The  Lebanon  Conference  a  time  of  great  interest — He  visits  the 
Conference  for  the  last  time — Bids  adieu — Gwin,  Page,  Douglass,  and 
McGee  there — Returns  to  Nashville — Preaches  his  last  sermon  there, 
November  23 — Goes  to  his  brother's — Depressed — His  last  battle — 
Victor — His  sufferings — Effect  of  prayer — Family  love — The  closing 
scene — "All's  well" — His  burial — Should  his  remains  be  removed? — 
Review  of  his  life  and  character. 

BY  his  "last  will  and  testament,"  Bishop  McKendree  left 
his  papers  of  every  kind  to  Bishop  Soule,  to  be  assisted  by 
T.  L.  Douglass  in  the  use  of  them.  The  latter  received  the 
little  old  "hair  trunk,"  and  found  it  full,  but  a  jumble.  He 
seems  to  have  done  no  more  than  to  look  over  some  of  them, 
and  write  a  few  lines  of  advice  as  to  what  should  not  be  published. 
Bishop  Soule  received  it  with  authority  to  make  such  use  of 
it  as  he  should  see  fit.  But  he  never  found  time  to  do  more 
than  to  put  most  of  the  letters  into  packages  and  indorse  on 
them  the  names  of  their  authors  and  their  dates.  Not  a  line 
from  his  pen  toward  a  biography  has  ever  been  found.  Neither 
of  these  good  and  highly  competent  men  could  command  the 
necessary  leisure  for  the  task.  And  if  they  could  not  do  it  in 
twenty  years,  surely  the  old  Bishop  could  not  have  done  it 
in  two  or  three  months. 

It  is  rather  a  remarkable  incident  that  the  first  Conference 
he  attended  as  bishop  was  at  a  camp  meeting  at  Liberty  Hill, 
in  1808,  at  Col.  Green  Hill's,  with  whom  he  and  Bishop 
Asbury  camped  during  the  session;  and  at  this,  his  last  Con- 
ference, his  kind  hostess  was  Mr.  Hill's  granddaughter. 

The  Lebanon  Conference  was  a  very  interesting  occasion. 
More  than  the  usual  number  of  the  Bishop's  old  associates 
were  present.  He  had  lately  parted  in  tears  from  Burke; 
and  here  were  Gwin,  "one  of  the  kindest  friends  he  ever  found, 
who  had  given  him,  for  his  father  and  sisters,  three  hundred 
acres  of  land, "  the  place  he  called  home  and  where  his  re- 
mains now  rest  with  his  father's  and  sister's;  Garrett,  who  pre- 
ceded him  to  the  West,  and  in  1803,  as  presiding  elder  of  Cum- 
berland District,  divided  the  work  with  him  and  lived  and  died 
his  true  and  admiring  friend;  John  McGee,  who  with  his  Pres- 
byterian brother,  William,  was  a  leader  in  the  beginning  of 
25 


386  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  great  revival  of  1799  and  1800,  the  most  powerful  and 
extensive  work  which  has  occurred  in  the  United  States,  not 
only  spreading  over  the  whole  West  and  South,  but  sweep- 
ing like  a  great  ocean  wave  over  all  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States;  John  Page,  a  veteran  in  the  cause;  and  his  greatly 
loved  "Logan  Douglass,"  besides  a  host  of  younger  preachers, 
who  revered  him  as  a  father. 

Among  those  mentioned  above  as  special  friends  and  former 
laborers  of  the  Bishop  is  John  McGee.  He  was  in  several 
respects  a  remarkable  man.  He  was  admitted  on  trial  in  the 
Virginia  Conference  in  1788,  with  William  McKendree,  Peter 
Massie,  Henry  Birchett,  and  Valentine  Cook;  all  of  them, 
with  perhaps  an  exception  of  the  last,  were  converted  in  the 
revival  under  Mr.  Easter,  as  was  also  Enoch  George.  What 
a  galaxy!  How  much  does  Methodism  owe  to  those  great, 
old-fashioned  revivals,  which,  like  earthquakes,  shake  States 
and  continents! 

After  spending  five  years  in  the  itinerancy  in  the  Atlantic 
portion  of  the  work,  Mr.  McGee  located  and  came  to  Ten- 
nessee; married  and  settled  in  Smith  County.  His  marriage 
was  a  fortunate  one,  and  his  domestic  relations  were  happy. 
But  worldly  prosperity  did  not  diminish  his  zeal  and  usefulness. 
He  was  known  far  and  near  as  a  bold,  zealous,  and  powerful 
preacher.  Plain  in  his  dress,  pointed  in  rebuking  sin,  and 
sometimes  almost  irresistible  in  his  appeals  to  the  conscience, 
he  was  "a  terror  to  evil  doers  and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well." 
His  ministry  was  "in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with 
power. "  The  writer  first  saw  him  in  1818  and  heard  him  for 
the  last  time  at  the  close  of  the  funeral  discourse  preached  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  Rev.  L.  D.  Overall,  at  the 
Tennessee  Conference  at  Lebanon,  in  1835.  Such  an  unction 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  he  has  scarcely,  if  ever,  witnessed  before 
or  since.  It  was  his  last  interview  with  his  beloved  Bishop. 

He  had  an  excellent  farm,  a  comfortable  and  well-furnished 
home,  and  abundant  pecuniary  means;  and,  although  sur- 
rounded by  wealthy  neighbors  and  in  the  midst  of  a  large  slave 
population,  he  never  would  own  a  slave.  He  had  the  moral 
courage  "to  work  with  his  own  hands,"  and  teach  his  family 
the  lesson  of  self-reliance.  He  considered  slavery  a  misfortune, 
if  not  a  curse,  to  the  slaveholder,  and  would  not  be  plagued 
with  slaves. 

Such  was  the  man  whom  God  honored  as  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal instruments  of  the  great  revival  in  1799  and  1800.  We 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  387 

have  already  said  he  was  the  father-in-law  of  Thomas  L. 
Douglass. 

Bishop  McKendree 's  last  and  perhaps  his  only  appearance 
in  the  Conference  room  has  often  reminded  us  of  General 
Washington  in  his  last  review  and  final  farewell  to  his  army  in 
1783. 

In  ancient  times  the  Roman  Senate  decreed  a  triumph  to 
a  victorious  general  upon  his  return  to  Rome  after  the  subjec- 
tion of  a  province  or  a  great  decisive  victory  over  a  formidable  foe, 
and,  as  he  entered  the  city,  a  pompous  ceremony  was  performed  in 
honor  of  the  victor.  He  came  crowned  with  a  wreath  of  ever- 
greens, a  scepter  in  one  hand  and  a  laurel  branch  in  the  other, 
riding  in  a  splendid  open  chariot,  preceded  by  a  herald,  the  Senate 
and  chief  magistrates,  musicians,  the  spoils  of  the  campaign, 
and  captives  in  chains,  and  followed  by  his  veteran  officers  and 
victorious  army  on  foot.  They  advanced  through  the  crowd- 
ed streets  amidst  the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  thousands  to  the 
Capitoline  Hill,  where  feasts  were  prepared,  sacrifices  offered, 
and  he  received  the  congratulations  of  the  Senate  and  people 
of  Rome. 

How  different  the  scenes  before  us!  Here  is  a  man,  bowed 
down  with  years;  his  tottering  steps  scarcely  sustained  by  his 
long  staff;  pale,  emaciated,  and  tremulous;  yet  he,  too,  is  a 
victor,  has  fought  the  good  fight,  and  won  the  field.  He, 
too,  has  spoils  and  captives  and  honors.  He  has  conquered 
himself,  ruled  his  own  spirit  and  the  hearts  of  thousands  by 
the  power  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  gentleness  and  love;  but 
his  trophies  are  unstained  with  blood,  while  thousands  of  cap- 
tives grace  his  triumphs,  not  taken  in  unprovoked  and  cruel 
war,  in  the  carnival  of  death,  on  bloody  battle  fields,  but  slaves 
of  sin  and  Satan,  rescued  by  grace,  and  made  to  pass  under 
the  easy  yoke  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Prince  of  Peace.  No 
manacled  wretches  nor  weeping  widows  and  orphans  swell 
his  train,  but  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  exultant  response  of 
Miriam  rise  to  heaven  in  gratitude  for  deliverance  from  worse 
than  Egyptian  bondage.  He  bears  no  scepter  in  his  hand; 
he  flaunts  no  insignia  of  his  high  office  on  his  breast;  no  coro- 
nal of  laurel  decks  his  head;  not  even  a  chaplet  of  simple  wild 
flowers  adorns  his  brow  and  binds  his  few  gray  hairs;  no  shout- 
ing sycophants  hail  him  welcome,  nor  venal  muse,  in  sweet, 
poetic  melody,  celebrates  his  deeds;  but  a  great  multitude 
call  him  a  benefactor  of  his  race  and  award  him  the  honor  due 
a  long  life  unvaryingly  and  intensly  devoted  to  the  salvation 


388  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

of  men  and  the  glory  of  God;  no  pompous  pageant  attends  him, 
but  as  a  weary,  earnest,  good  old  man,  having  served  his  God 
and  his  generation  faithfully,  he  comes  in  Christian  meekness 
to  greet  his  children  for  the  last  time,  to  bid  them  to  love  one 
another,  and  then  go  away  to  lay  him  down  and  die. 

The  Conference  closed  on  the  night  of  November  14,  and,  as 
usual,  the  preachers  hurried  away  to  their  respective  fields 
of  labor,  except  one  or  two,  who  lingered  with  the  Bishop  to 
see  him  safely  back  to  Nashville.  Passing  the  Hermitage, 
he  reached  the  city  on  the  fifteenth,  but  was  too  unwell  to  at- 
tend Churchmen  Sunday,  the  sixteenth.  During  the  week  en- 
suing he  rallied  a  little,  and,  at  the  urgent  solicitations  of  the 
preachers  present  and  of  his  old  friends,  who  greatly  desired 
to  hear  words  of  counsel  and  comfort  from  his  lips  once  more, 
he  consented,  and  preached  his  last  sermon  November  23, 1834. 
The  church  was  a  very  large  and  substantial  edifice,  recently 
finished,  and,  in  honor  of  his  memory,  had  been  dedicated  as 
the  McKendree  Church. 

On  that  occasion  the  spacious  house  was  filled  to  overflow- 
ing, and  Dr.  Green,  who  had  the  privilege  of  hearing  him, 
says:  "In  my  imagination  I  can  see  him  at  this  moment,  as  he 
last  stood  on  the  walls  of  Zion,  with  his  sickle  in  his  hand; 
the  gray  hairs  thinly  covering  his  forehead;  his  pale  and  with- 
ered face;  his  benignant  countenance;  his  speaking  eye;  while 
a  deep  undercurrent  of  thought,  scarcely  veiled  by  the  external 
lineaments,  took  form  in  words  and  fell  from  his  trembling  lips  as 
by  the  eye  of  faith  he  transcended  the  boundaries  of  time  and  en- 
tered the  eternal  world.  But  he  is  drawing  to  the  close  of  his 
sermon.  Now,  for  the  last  time,  he  bends  himself,  and  reaches 
his  sickle  forth,  ripe  to  the  harvest.  How  balmy  the  name  of 
Christ  as  he  breathes  it  forth,  standing  midway,  as  it  were,  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth  and  pointing  to  the  home  of  the  faithful  in 
the  sky !  I  look  again ;  the  sickle  sways  in  his  hand ;  his  strength  is 
measured,  and  he  closes  his  ministerial  labors  on  earth  with  the 
words,  'I  add  no  more!'  while  imagination  hears  the  response 
from  the  invisible  glory:  'It  is' enough!"1 

This  sermon  was  reported  verbatim,  and  forms  the  first  num- 
ber of  the  Western  Methodist  Preacher.  His  work  was  well 
done;  but  when  he  could  do  no  more,  and  suffering  the  will  of 
God  is  as  much  a  part  of  our  duty  as  doing  it  and  quite  as  im- 
portant to  the  full  development  of  the  higher  Christian  graces, 
so  our  Heavenly  Father  in  mercy  suffers  him  to  pass  through 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  389 

the  crucible  of  affliction  before  he  realizes  the  eternal  weight 
of  glory. 

About  December  22,  he  left  Nashville  for  his  brother's 
residence  in  Sumner  County,  under  a  presentiment,  as  is  sup- 
posed, that  his  end  was  near  and  in  accordance  with  a  long- 
cherished  wish  to  die  at  home  and  be  buried  there.  But  be- 
fore he  started  on  his  last  trip,  a  little  portion  of  the  skin  by 
the  side  of  the  nail  on  the  forefinger  of  his  right  hand  had  be- 
come loosened;  in  pulling  it  off,  it  reached  the  quick,  and 
made  it  sore.  Presently  it  inflamed  and  became  swollen  and 
very  painful.  He  thought  that  the  ink  from  his  pen  had  got 
into  it  and  poisoned  it.  The  inflammation  and  the  pain  in- 
creased until  his  rest  and  sleep  were  much  interrupted,  yet  he  was 
enabled  to  reach  his  brother's  before  Christmas.  And  now, 
having  attended  his  last  Conference,  preached  his  valedictory 
sermon,  and  bidden  farewell  to  his  kind  hosts  and  their  fam- 
ilies and  his  numerous  friends  in  Nashville,  like  his  Mas- 
ter, he  is  met  by  the  enemy  at  the  portal  of  the  grave  for  a  last 
encounter.  The  conviction  that  he  can  travel  and  labor  no 
longer  to  build  up  Zion  and  win  the  souls  to  Christ  saddens  him. 

It  was  not  the  resignation  of  his  office,  he  had  not  sought  it  nor 
desired  it;  it  was  not  its  emoluments,  he  had  received  no  more 
than  the  youngest  and  humblest  circuit  preacher;  and  one  hun- 
dred dollars  for  a  year  of  such  work  as  he  had  done  was  no  com- 
pensation; nor  was  it  that  he  loved  power  and  prerogative,  for 
in  his  office  power  and  sacrifice  are  inseparably  united.  No,  it 
was  none  of  these  things;  but  it  was  because  he  could  sacrifice  and 
labor  no  longer  in  the  blessed  work  of  soul  saving.  He  was  de- 
pressed and,  for  a  season,  seemed  to  be  in  a  severe  mental  strain. 
Doubtless  his  physical  condition  had  much  to  do  in  this  trouble; 
and  the  adversary,  who  always  adapts  his  suggestions  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  tempted,  endeavored  to  use  those  sur- 
rounding this  holy  man  to  his  discomfort  and  thus  involve  his 
mind  in  clouds.  But  the  clouds  soon  broke,  faith  and  prayer 
triumphed;  the  disconcerted  tempter  fled,  and  the  sunshine  of 
his  Heavenly  Father's  face  again  shone  upon  him.  It  was  his 
last  battle  with  Satan.  "He  now  boldly  stepped  beyond  the  val- 
ley of  dejection  and  over  the  enchanted  ground  quite  into  the 
celestial  land  of  'Beulah,'  where  heavenly  voices  are  heard  and 
ministering  spirits  from  the  better  world  are  not  few  and  far  be- 
tween." 

The  incorrigible  tumor  on  his  finger,  however,  continued  to 
give  him  excruciating  pain,  in  despite  of  all  medical  aid,  until 


390  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

his  finger  wasted  away,  while  the  agony  seemed  to  involve,  by 
sympathy,  his  back  and  head.  It  is  affecting  to  learn  the  aid  to 
which  he  resorted  while  in  pain.  Such  was  his  faith  in  a  prayer- 
answering  God  that  while  he  would  be  in  the  greatest  agony  he 
would  call  on  any  Christian  present  to  pray,  saying  to  one  on 
a  certain  occasion:  "Pray  with  me  on  account  of  my  pain;  not 
as  you  pray  in  your  family,  but  in  faith,  with  direct  reference 
to  my  pain."  After  prayer,  he  smiled,  raised  his  head,  and  said : 
"It  is  easy  now!"  Indeed,  it  invariably  happened  that  after 
prayer,  and  sometimes  before  its  close,  he  would  be  in  a  slumber 
as  calm  as  an  infant. 

God  designed  the  family  as  the  training  school  for  this  and  the 
future  world;  and  domestic  love  is  the  purest  instinctive  feeling 
on  earth.  And  if  a  sister  ever  loved  a  brother  with  a  deep  and 
holy  affection,  it  was  the  case  with  Nancy  McKendree  toward 
her  noble,  loving  brother  William.  They  both  lived  and  died  un- 
married; and  she  seemed  to  live  for  God  and  her  brother.  She 
waited  upon  him  and  watched  by  his  bedside  unceasingly.  Once 
awaking  from  slumber  in  the  night,  he  looked  at  her  and  his 
nieces,  who  were  sitting  by  his  bed,  and  said,  with  a  smile: 
"You  are  like  a  lamp,  burning  while  I  sleep,  to  cheer  me  when 
I  wake." 

On  Sunday,  four  days  previous  to  his  death,  his  brother,  the 
doctor,  said  to  him,  "Bishop,  you  are  sinking  fast.  We  shall,  in 
all  probability,  soon  be  separated."  He  replied:  "Yes,  I  know 
it;  but  all  is  well."  To  questions  in  regard  to  his  last  wishes  as 
to  his  funeral  arrangements,  when  both  of  them  (having  been 
similarly  afflicted  with  asthma)  were  seized  with  a  fit  of  cough- 
ing, no  reply  could  be  given.  Soon  after,  the  Bishop  made  a  sig- 
nal that  he  wished  to  speak.  To  his  nephew,  Dudley  McKen- 
dree leaning  over  him  to  receive  his  communication,  he  said :  "All 
is  well  for  time  or  for  eternity.  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God." 
In  his  most  emphatic  manner,  he  repeated:  "I  wish  that  matter 
to  be  perfectly  understood,  that  all  is  well  with  me,  whether  I 
live  or  die.  For  two  months  I  have  not  had  a  cloud  to  darken  my 
sky.  I  have  had  uninterrupted  confidence  in  my  Saviour's  love." 
He  began  to  repeat  a  part  of  a  stanza  of  one  of  Charles  Wesley's 
beautiful  hymns, 

Not  a  cloud  can  arise  to  darken  my  skies, 

Or  hide  for  a  moment  my  Lord  from  mine  eyes; 

but  not  being  able  to  finish  the  couplet,  it  was  finished  for  him. 
As  to  his  interment,  he  said:  "I  wish  to  be  buried  in  the  ancient 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  391 

Methodist  style,  like  an  old  Christian  minister. ' '  Being  asked  if 
he  had  any  choice  as  to  the  text  of  his  funeral  sermon,  the  hymns, 
etc.,  he  replied  that  he  had  none.  When  subsequently  asked 
if  he  had  a  choice  as  to  the  preacher,  his  answer  was:  "Not  par- 
ticularly; Logan  Douglass  as  well  as  anyone." 

The  Bishop  now  seemed  to  summon  all  the  powers  of  his  soul 
to  pass  the  cold  stream  of  death.  He  ordered  the  bedstead  on 
which  his  venerable  father  had  died,  years  ago,  to  be  brought  in, 
and,  if  we  mistake  not,  the  same  bed  and  bedding  to  be  placed 
upon  it,  as  he  wished  to  die  where  his  father  died;  and  upon  this 
couch  he  waited  the  coming  of  death.  From  this  time  he 
suffered  but  little  pain,  but  was  calm  and  composed,  like  one 
whose  work  is  done,  waiting  the  coming  of  his  Lord. 

Many  were  the  gracious  words  which  fell  from  his  lips  to  the 
friends  around  him.  To  one  he  said:  "Follow  me,  as  I  have  fol- 
lowed Christ,  only  closer  to  Christ."  He  was  remarkably  fond  of 
the  phrase,  "All  is  well."  To  almost  all  inquiries  as  to  the  state 
of  his  soul,  this  was  his  invariable  reply.  This  was,  indeed,  his 
last  connected  expression,  although  the  last  word  was  "Yes," 
in  answer  to  the  question  asked  him  while  dying,  "Is  all  wellnow?" 
Being  interrogated  again,  on  the  day  of  his  death,  as  to  his  fu- 
neral arrangements,  he  said:  "I  leave  it  all  to  my  friends,  only 
preserve  the  plainness ;  my  friends  know  my  wishes."  After  this, 
his  kind  and  tender  sister  asked  if  he  was  in  pain.  He  answered : 
"No."  He  had  long  been  subject  to  coughing  fits,  and  was 
obliged  to  be  raised  up,  to  avoid  suffocation.  While  in  this  posi- 
tion, with  one  of  his  kind  nurses  sitting  behind  him  and  supporting 
his  head,  the  question  was  asked  for  the  last  time,  "Is  all  well?" 
and  again  he  answered:  "Yes."  Just  then,  by  a  sudden,  spas- 
modic contraction,  he  seemed  to  have  a  darting  pain  in  his  right 
side.  The  muscles  in  the  left  cheek  seemed  to  suffer  a  correspond- 
ing spasm,  and  knotted  up  with  a  deep  wrinkle,  which  remained 
after  the  pain  in  the  side  had  passed  off.  The  Bishop,  sensible  of 
this  muscular  contraction,  made  two  energetic  efforts  to  smooth 
down  his  countenance.  The  second  effort  succeeded,  and  a  dying 
smile  came  over  the  brow  and  descended  upon  the  lower  features 
of  his  face.  Then  the  senior  bishop  of  our  episcopacy  surren- 
dered the  parchment  which  he  had  held  since  1808.  He  returned  it 
as  stainless  as  the  mountain  snow.  The  struggle  was  over.  He 
had  fought  the  good  fight,  he  had  finished  his  course,  he  had  kept 
the  faith.  The  chariot  had  gone  over  the  everlasting  hills. 

After  death,  the  Bishop's  features  were  calm  and  beautiful. 
The  wars  of  earth  had  all  passed  away.    No  trace  of  agony  re- 


392  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

mained.  There  was  a  noble  sublimity  in  the  inanimate  clay, 
connected  with  the  circumstances  of  his  long  and  useful  life  that 
made  the  gazer  linger  over  it  as  if  he  were  looking  upon  features 
he  would  see  again  in  radiant  scenes  over  which  the  curtain  of 
futurity  yet  hangs  its  folds. 

In  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the  deceased,  he  was  shroud- 
ed in  a  grave  robe  of  black  silk,  inclosed  in  a  plain  but  substan- 
tial walnut  coffin;  and  on  Saturday  he  was  interred,  at  the  left 
hand  of  his  father,  about  forty  yards  from  the  old  family  man- 
sion, where  he  died.1 

His  epitaph,  by  an  unknown  hand,  is  as  follows: 

Sacred 

TO  THE  MEMORY  OP  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE 

Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  In  the 
United  States  of  America 

Born  King  William  County  Virginia  July  6th  1757 
Died  at  his  Brothers  Dr  James  McKendrees 

*Many  of  the  Bishop's  friends  were  very  desirous  he  should  be  interred 
in  Nashville,  but  his  relations,  who  occupied  the  old  homestead  and  its 
vicinity,  were  understood  to  be  unwilling;  and,  as  his  father,  brother, 
and  sister  were  buried  there,  and  he  had  intimated  a  wish  to  rest  by  the 
side  of  his  father,  the  subject  was  dropped;  and  it  has  recently  been  pro- 
posed to  erect  a  church  edifice  there,  which  shall  be  a  memorial  to  his 
character  and  a  convenience  to  the  community  who  might  worship  in  it. 
One  or  two  Conferences,  I  believe,  have  proposed  to  aid  the  attempt. 
The  writer  is  strongly  impressed  now,  although  formerly  opposed  to  it, 
that  (as  the  old  house  and  premises  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers, 
all  the  immediate  relatives  moved  away,  leaving  scarcely  even  a  distant 
kinsman  in  the  county;  the  locality  of  the  grave,  secluded  from  any  town, 
village,  or  thoroughfare  of  travel,  surrounded  by  a  sparse  population, 
with  churches  sufficiently  convenient,  and  the  grave  without  inclosure, 
evincing  utter  neglect)  it  would  be  far  better  to  remove  his  remains  to 
the  Nashville  Cemetery,  and  place  them  by  the  side  of  his  noble  colleague 
and  old  friend,  Bishop  Soule.  This  conviction  has  been  deepened  by  the 
perusal  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Redford,  published  lately  in 
the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  in  which  he  describes  the  condition  of 
the  tomb  and  the  general  aspect  of  the  place.  The  brick  walls  of  the  tomb, 
it  seems,  were  taken  down  by  Federal  soldiers,  during  the  late  war,  and 
the  slab  engraved  with  his  epitaph  was  thrown  on  the  ground,  where  it 
still  lies;  and  the  whole  scenery  is  desolate  and  dreary,  without  one  re- 
deeming circumstance.  It  is,  moreover,  understood  that  his  relations 
now  interpose  no  objections  to  the  transfer.  Let  it  be  done,  and  quickly; 
and  let  the  congregation  of  the  McKendree  Church  do  it,  and  let  Dr. 
Green  see  to  it. 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  393 

In  Sumner  County  Ten.  March  5th  1835 
He  was  elected  and  ordained  Bishop. 
In  the  city  of  Baltimore.    May  1808 
He  labored  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  47  years 
With  uncommon  zeal  ability  and  usefulness. 
And  for  near  27  years  discharged  the  duties 
Of  the  episcopal  office  with  such  wisdom 
Rectitude  fidelity  as  to  secure  the 
Confidence  respect  and  esteem  of  the 
Ministers  and  people  of  his  official 
Oversight  in  travels  and  labors  for 
The  advancement  of  the  Redeemers 
Kingdom  and  the  salvation  of  the 
Souls  of  men.    He  occupied  an  elevated 
Position  among  the  most  eminent  ministers 
Of  Christ  and  has  furnished  an  illustrious 
Example  for  Christian  pastors  and  Bishops 
He  finished  his  course  in  peace  and  triumph 
Proclaiming  in  his  last  moments 
"All  is  well" 

The  personnel  of  Bishop  McKendree  was  a  true  index  of  the 
man.  He  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  and  finely  proportioned. 
His  forehead  was  high  and  broad,  his  eyes  dark,  large,  and  some- 
what protruding,  their  predominant  expression,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  was  benignity,  but  they  were  capable  of  spark- 
ling with  vivacity  or  of  expressing  severe  rebuke.  All  his 
features  taken  together  were  in  harmony,  and  when  he  was  excited 
it  was  the  most  speaking  face  I  ever  looked  upon.  His  skin,  even 
in  the  decline  of  life,  was  almost  pearly  white,  and  reminded  one 
of  a  fine  mezzotint  engraving.  The  writer  first  saw  him  in  1817, 
and,  although  he  was  falling  into  "the  sear  and  yellow  leaf"  of 
life,  his  appearance  was  very  prepossessing  and  expressive.  In 
dress  he  was  very  neat.  A  black,  round-breasted  coat,  white 
necktie,  short  breeches,  with  knee  buckles  and  shoe  buckles,  and 
a  white,  broad-brimmed  hat,  was  a  costume  that  gave  to  his  fine 
form  a  venerable  and  commanding  appearance.  In  his  later 
years,  he  exchanged  the  short  clothes  and  buckles  for  pantaloons, 
except  on  special  occasions,  but  retained  the  other  items  of  dress. 
He  must  have  been  an  active  and  vigorous  man  in  his  prime  and 
more  than  ordinarily  fine-looking,  not  to  say  handsome.  His 
voice  was  soft  and  yet  penetrating  and  was  wonderfully  per- 
suasive and  melodious. 

His  early  educational  advantages  were  not  great;  but  with  his 
quick  and  observant  mind,  which  he  was  daily  improving,  he 


394  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

became  a  correct  and  effective  speaker.  He  had  fine  taste  in  se- 
lecting the  best  words  to  express  his  ideas.  He  thought,  read, 
and  studied  much,  especially  on  moral  and  religious  subjects.  In 
the  department  of  biblical  doctrines  and  Church  history  and 
government,  he  had  few  equals. 

His  mind  was  logical.  He  excelled  in  what  is  called  practical 
or  common  sense.  The  Holy  Scriptures  were  read  regularly  and 
studied  attentively.  He  believed  them  implicitly  and  devoted 
his  whole  soul  to  their  teachings. 

His  preaching  was  spiritual.  All  merely  speculative  ques- 
tions he  avoided  in  the  pulpit.  Christ  crucified  for  the 
world,  the  manner  and  means  of  receiving  him,  and  the  evi- 
dences of  having  done  so,  as  well  as  the  duties  arising  from  our 
obligations  were  his  favorite  themes.  He  was  an  attractive  and 
instructive  preacher,  and  sometimes  a  powerful  one.  Splendid 
displays  of  imagination  culled  in  the  field  of  fancy  and  carefully 
stored  in  the  memory  to  be  used  for  gaining  admiration  were 
distasteful  to  him.  He  was  solemn  and  deeply  in  earnest  in  de- 
livering his  message.  His  first  and  only  aim  was  to  be  under- 
stood by  all  and  to  draw  his  hearers  to  Christ,  and  he  would  as 
soon  have  put  on  gorgeous  apparel  as  to  have  dressed  his 
sermons  in  an  ornate,  oratorical  style.  He  preferred  in  this  re- 
spect to  imitate  Christ,  his  apostles,  and  Wesley. 

His  piety  was  profound.  Conscientiousness  was  a  promi- 
nent trait  in  his  character,  and  one  more  truthful  in  word  and 
deed  I  never  saw.  He  prayed  much  and  regularly,  took  all  his 
cares  and  wants  to  God  in  prayer.  His  standard  of  religion,  ex- 
perimental and  practical,  was  a  high  one.  He  watched,  prayed, 
fasted,  and  labored  in  earnestness.  He  was  a  holy  man,  loving 
God  with  all  his  heart  and  his  neighbor  as  himself.  No  one  ever 
was  known  to  doubt  his  purity  of  character;  in  this  he  was  a 
bright  exemplar.  In  his  social  intercourse  there  was  nothing 
light  or  frivolous.  A  simple  gravity  was  characteristic  of 
his  manner;  and  yet  there  was  in  it  nothing  repulsive.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  associate  with  him  and  not  to  respect 
and  venerate  him;  and  in  an  ingenuous  mind  these  feelings  soon 
warmed  into  love  of  the  most  enduring  kind. 

He  loved  the  Church.  It  is  doubted  whether  any  man  since 
St.  Paul,  not  even  excepting  Asbury,  loved  it  more.  Such  was 
his  anxious  concern  for  its  welfare  that  his  very  soul  was  bur- 
dened with  care.  The  difference  in  this  respect  between  men 
has  often  been  seen.  Some  physicians  are  so  constituted  that 
every  case  of  serious  illness  among  their  patients  harasses 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  395 

them,  they  cannot  dismiss  it  from  their  minds.  They  en- 
ter into  the  sympathies  of  their  patients  and  their  families; 
they  become  nurses  as  well  as  doctors.  And  such  are  apt  to  wear 
themselves  out  and  sink  into  premature  graves.  Yet  others  can 
perform,  and  faithfully  too,  their  professional  duties  and  soon 
banish  anxiety  fron  their  hearts.  It  is  so  with  preachers.  I  have 
imagined  St.  Paul  was  one  of  the  former  class,  was  always  op- 
pressed by  "the  care  of  all  the  Churches";  while  St.  Peter  was 
probably  of  the  latter  class.  It  is  so  now,  and  has  ever  been  so, 
among  preachers  and  bishops;  and  they  are  neither  better  nor 
worse  for  it,  if  restrained  within  reasonable  bounds  and  arising 
from  purely  constitutional  tendencies.  Now,  Bishop  McKen- 
dree in  this  respect  belongs  to  the  former  class.  He  could  not  di- 
vest himself  of  anxiety  about  any  interest  of  the  Church  when  it 
was  in  the  least  imperiled.  From  1820  to  1828  he  was  greatly 
troubled.  He  regarded  the  efficiency  of  the  episcopacy  and  the 
itinerant  system  as  in  peril  in  the  reform  and  radical  movements 
of  that  period. 

The  prosperity  and  safety  of  the  Church,  he  firmly  believed, 
were  identified  with  the  strict  observance  of  the  chartered  rights 
of  the  constitution.  Innovations  on  this  instrument  he  regarded 
with  alarm.  In  other  things  not  tending  to  lower  the  scriptural 
and  Wesleyan  standard  of  experimental  and  practical  piety  of 
the  Church  he  was  liberal;  so  that  while  he  opposed  changes,  the 
utility  of  which  he  doubted,  and  was  therefore  a  conservative 
in  other  things  he  was  a  progressionist.  Yet  he  stood  openly 
opposed  to  sudden  and  great  changes,  and  his  motto  might 
have  been:  "Festina  lente." 

Like  Asbury,  Lee,  Bruce,  and  a  good  many  of  the  Method- 
ist itinerant  preachers  of  their  day,  Bishop  McKendree  never 
married ;  nor  have  we  any  reason  to  believe  he  ever  attempted 
to  do  so.  At  that  time  their  salary  was  so  small,  their  appoint- 
ments so  often  changed,  and  their  work  so  arduous,  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  to  marry  was  to  locate.  Indeed,  preachers  and 
people  disapproved  of  it;  and  to  marry  under  eight  or  ten  years 
of  itinerant  service  was  regarded  with  general  disfavor,  almost 
amounting  to  proof  positive  of  backsliding,  as  an  itinerant 
preacher.  To  be  changed  every  three  or  six  months,  to  drag  a 
family  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  Holston  or  to  Cumber- 
land, was  a  very  serious  matter.  A  preacher  might  love  a  lady 
too  much  to  seek  her  hand ;  so  thought  many  who  could  receive 
St.  Paul's  advice  to  the  preachers  of  his  day.  Some  of  this 
early  class  did  marry  in  advanced  life,  perhaps  upon  the  prin- 


396  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ciple  which  an  old  itinerant  once  gave  as  his  apology  for  so 
doing,  that  he  could  no  longer  travel  and  preach,  and  was  fit 
for  nothing  else;  he  had,  therefore,  got  married  and  located. 
Now,  the  writer  thinks  that  the  Church  and  the  world  are 
better  off  on  account  of  this  habit  of  our  fathers.  Bishop 
McKendree  was  probably  far  more  useful  as  a  single  man  than 
he  could  have  been  otherwise.  The  condition  of  the  work  at 
that  time  seemed  to  require  it  of  him ;  and  it  is  very  questionable 
whether  the  habit  of  the  present  day  of  assuming  the  care  of 
a  family  while  quite  young  in  the  ministry  is  the  better  way. 
The  Bishop,  while  he  thought  it  lawful,  did  not  think  it  was  ex- 
pedient for  him  to  marry;  he  never  found  time  to  get  married. 

He  was  a  model  bishop,  combining  every  qualification  for 
this  high  and  holy  office;  wise,  prudent,  vigilant,  industrious, 
unselfish,  unblamable,  and  holy,  he  presided  with  dignity  and 
gentleness  and  preached  with  power  and  success.  By  no  act 
or  word  did  he  dishonor  his  office.  He  was  the  first  native 
American  bishop  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  in- 
ferior in  the  aggregate  of  those  qualities  which  the  office  re- 
quires to  no  one  before  or  since  his  day.  No  man  can  ever  fill 
the  niche  of  Asbury,  he  was,  under  God,  the  father  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism,  he  was  superior  to  McKendree  only  in  priority 
of  time,  length  of  life,  and  services.  Both  of  them  did  what 
they  could,  all  they  could.  The  mantle  of  the  older  fell  on  his 
shoulders,  and  both  unreservedly  consecrated  their  all  to  God 
and  his  Church.  Wesley  drew  from  the  Bible  the  plan  of  the 
spiritual  edifice,  Asbury  began  to  build  it  up  in  America,  and 
McKendree  carried  forward  the  work  as  a  wise  master  builder. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  McKendree 
not  to  notice  the  fact  that  he  felt  the  liveliest  interest  in  all 
the  religious  and  intellectual  enterprises  of  his  time.  He  was 
the  first  President  of  our  Bible  and  Missionary  Societies;  and 
when  it  was  proposed  to  merge  the  former  in  the  American 
Bible  Society,  he  gave  it  his  concurrence  and  was  ever  its 
ardent  friend.  His  devotion  to  the  Missionary  Society  needs 
not  to  be  repeated;  so  also  as  to  Sunday  schools.  He  was, 
moreover,  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  and  necessity 
of  education.  He  had  seen  the  unfortunate  attempt  of  Bishops 
Coke  and  Asbury  to  build  up  Cokesbury  into  a  literary  insti- 
tution of  high  grade.  He  had  been  mortified  by  a  similar  failure 
in  Kentucky  to  found  Bethel  Academy,  and  he  wisely  thought 
that  our  resources  were  then  inadequate  and  the  country  too 
new. to  justify  costly  attempts;  but  for  many  years  before  his 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree  397 

death  he  was  exceedingly  desirous  to  see  our  people  unite  in 
erecting  a  few  first-class  colleges.  The  last  letter  the  writer 
ever  received  from  him,  and  not  long  previous  to  his  death, 
contained  fifty  dollars  for  La  Grange  College,  signed,  "No- 
body." The  handwriting  detected  the  giver.  No  appeal  had 
been  made  to  him;  yet,  out  of  his  annual  pittance,  he  was 
prompted  by  his  interest  in  the  cause  of  education  to  make 
the  donation  and  tried  to  conceal  the  donor.  His  special  ob- 
ject was  that  the  money  should  be  applied  to  place  in  the 
college  library  the  standard  religious  literature  of  the  Church 
for  the  religious  instruction  and  benefit  of  the  students.  Of 
course  it  was  done. 

Was  Bishop  McKendree  a  great  man?  In  reply,  it  must  be 
said  the  answer  depends  upon  the  meaning  of  the  question. 
We  readily  admit  he  was  not  preeminent  as  a  scholar,  an  orator, 
a  writer,  or  a  preacher;  still  he  was  more  than  respectable  in 
all  these  particulars,  and  yet  many,  doubtless,  excelled  him 
in  each  of  these  departments,  some  in  one,  and  some  in  another. 
In  all  that  constitutes  genius  and  intellectual  preeminence, 
we  admit  at  once  he  had  many  superiors;  yet  his  mind  was 
richly  stored  with  varied  and  useful  knowledge.  He  had  a  fine 
fancy,  without  a  brilliant  imagination;  his  apprehensions  were 
very  quick  and  correct;  his  judgment  was  excellent;  his  language 
simple,  chaste,  and  appropriate;  his  manner  grave  and  grace- 
ful. He  was  a  sound  theologian,  a  good  expositor,  always  me- 
thodical and  clear,  and  in  his  palmy  days  a  deeply  impressive 
and  powerful  preacher.  In  his  official  deportment,  as  well  as 
in  piety  toward  God  and  absorbing  devotion  to  the  eternal 
interests  of  men,  he  had  no  superior:  so  that  while  he  was  in 
every  respect  highly  reputable,  yea,  eminent  in  many  things, 
without  claiming  preeminence  in  any  one  endowment,  yet 
take  him  in  the  aggregate — mind,  heart,  life,  labors,  and  re- 
sults— he  was  a  great  man;  and  we  doubt  not  the  judgment 
of  the  last  day  will  so  decide. 


APPENDIX 


AMONG  the  various  documents  which  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  author,  it  had  been  judged  best  to  present  in  an 
"Appendix"  to  his  "Life  and  Times,"  some  of  those  which 
could  not  be  conveniently  introduced  in  the  chronological  order 
of  the  work  yet  serve  to  illustrate  his  character  and  his  senti- 
ments as  well  as  the  history  of  his  coadjutors.  In  pursuance  of 
this  object,  we  first  present  the  admirable  "Sermon  of  Bishop 
Soule  on  the  Death  of  Bishop  McKendree,"  delivered  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  General  Conference  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  May 
11, 1836,  and  published  by  order  of  that  body.  We  insert  it  in 
this  place,  the  more  readily  because  it  has  frequently  been  called 
for  and  is  now  nearly  or  entirely  out  of  print  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  liberal  use  made  of  it  in  the  preceding  pages  of  this  work. 

SERMON 
ON  THE  DEATH  OP  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE. 


"Remember  them  who  have  the  rule  over  you,  who  have  spoken  unto  you  the  word  of  God; 
whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their  conversation:  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday, 
and  to-day,  and  for  ever."  (Heb.  xiii.  7,  8.) 

When  in  the  providence  of  God  great  and  good  men  are  removed  from 
the  world  those  relations  they  have  sustained  to  their  fellow  men  to  their 
eternal  rewards,  it  is  highly  proper  that  suitable  respect  should  be  paid  to 
their  memory  and  that  their  names  and  their  virtues  should  be  handed 
down  to  posterity  as  examples  for  the  instruction  and  improvement  of  suc- 
ceeding generations.  The  practice  of  all  civilized  nations,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  organization  of  society  down  to  the  present  period,  is  in 
accordance  with  this  sentiment.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  calculate  the  influence 
which  the  opinions  and  the  examples  of  men  of  generations  and  of  ages 
long  since  passed  away  continue  to  exert  over  the  habits  of  thinking  and 
action  of  the  present  race,  and  which  they  will  not  cease  to  exert  through 
the  successive  periods  of  future  time.  The  Jews  were  distinguished  for 
their  sacred  monuments  designed  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  their  pa- 
triarchs, their  kings,  and  their  prophets.  But  the  light  of  the  Christian  era 
affords  the  purest  and  most  perfect  examples  of  all  which,  in  regard  either 
to  sentiment  or  action,  is  worthy  to  be  perpetuated  in  fadeless  records  to  the 
end  of  time.  One  of  the  peculiar  excellences  of  the  New  Testament  Scrip- 
tures is  the  moral  portraiture  of  the  most  pure,  illlustrious,  and  benevo- 
lent characters  which  ever  enlightened  and  adorned  our  world.  And  these 
characters  were  everywhere  exhibited  as  patterns  for  our  imitation,  as  ex- 
amples both  of  our  faith  and  practice.  But  when  the  mind  surveys  the 


Appendix  399 

simplicity  and  beauty  of  truth  and  the  uncompromising  virtue  and  un- 
sullied integrity  of  the  ministers  and  followers  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
as  portrayed  in  the  records  of  the  apostolic  age  and,  having  perceived  the 
majesty  and  grandeur  of  the  admirable  picture,  passes  onward  through  a 
succession  of  following  ages,  the  contrast  becomes  a  matter  of  melancholy 
and  painful  reflection. 

Scarcely  had  the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  received  their  com- 
mission and  their  instructions  from  the  lips  of  their  adorable  Master,  and 
their  immediate  successors  in  the  grand  work  of  evangelizing  the  world, 
"finished  their  course"  and  entered  upon  their  eternal  rewards  before  the 
system  of  truth  which  they  had  published,  and  the  plan  of  its  promulgation 
by  which  they  had  been  guided  were  subject  to  innovations  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  came  after  them.  A  single  century  from  the  day  of  Pentecost 
had  not  passed  away  before  the  gnostic  heresy  had  invaded  the  infant 
Church  and  corrupted  the  pure  fountains  of  gospel  truth.  So  early  did  the 
wisdom  of  men  in  the  form  of  a  subtle,  intricate,  and  superstitious  phi- 
losophy mingle  with  the  sublime  doctrines  of  the  Christian  revelation  the 
absurd  dogmas  of  "  Oriental  science."  Doctors  soon  appear,  not  to  preach 
to  their  congregations  the  pure,  unadulterated  "word  of  God,"  but  to 
"teach  for  doctrine"  the  unmeaning  jargon  of  their  respective  schools. 
In  the  progress  of  these  corruptions  of  primitive  Christianity,  other  evils 
sprung  up  and  mingled  their  influence  in  demolishing  that  simple  and 
beautiful  structure  which  had  been  modeled  by  infinite  wisdom  and  reared 
up  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles. 

This  work  of  earthly  wisdom  and  policy  had  not  continued  long  before 
the  relations  established  by  the  Christian  institutes  between  pastors  and 
their  flocks,  between  ministers  of  the  gospel  and  those  converted  to  the 
faith  of  Christ  through  their  ministry,  assumed  a  character  widely  differ- 
ent from  that  which  was  formed  by  the  original  charter.  The  superior 
clergy,  giddy  with  the  metaphysical  speculations  of  their  favorite  philos- 
ophy and  corrupted  by  the  love  of  the  world,  soon  set  up  claims  to  power 
and  rule  unauthorized  by  their  holy  vocation,  seeking  rather  the  authority 
of  the  civil  rulers  to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage  than  that  moral  influence 
which  was  founded  in  the  principles  and  obligations  of  a  kingdom  which 
was  not  of  this  world.  A  dark  age  ensued  in  which  the  light  of  evangelical 
truth  was  well-nigh  extinguished,  and,  if  it  shone  at  all,  was  confined  al- 
most exclusively  to  the  humble  and  obscure,  both  of  the  clergy  and  laity. 
In  such  a  state  of  things,  it  is  not  surprising  that  homage  should  be  paid  to 
men  which  was  due  only  to  God,  and  that  the  simplicity  of  the  apostolic 
direction  to  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  to  engrave  the  virtues  and  labors  of 
their  pastors  upon  the  table  of  their  memory  and  to  regard  them  in  their 
fidelity  as  patterns  for  their  imitation  should  give  place  to  pompous  titles, 
splendid  temples,  gorgeous  pictures,  sculptured  marble,  and  idolatrous 
festivals.  To  cap  this  climax  of  usurpation  and  impiety,  the  professed 
heralds  of  a  Saviour  born  in  a  manger  and  crucified  upon  a  cross  claimed  the 
prerogative  of  deposing  civil  princes  and  setting  their  feet  upon  the  necks 
of  kings;  and,  not  contented  with  the  proud  pretension  to  the  right  of  uni- 


400  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

versal  dictation  in  matters  belonging  to  the  civil  empire,  they  proclaimed 
themselves  God's  vicegerents  upon  earth  and  intercessors  for  men  before 
the  throne  of  heaven. 

In  casting  our  eye  over  this  succession  of  gloomy  ages,  distinguished 
chiefly  by  such  melancholy  corruptions  of  the  purest  system  of  religion  and 
morals  which  the  world  ever  saw,  it  affords  us  peculiar  satisfaction  to 
perceive  at  different  periods  some  rays  of  heavenly  light  penetrating  the 
gloom  of  that  spiritual  darkness  which  had  covered  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Here  and  there  a  luminous  spot  appears  upon  the  dark  and  dismal  abyss. 
Here  and  there  a  daring  spirit,  a  bold  defender  of  the  faith  of  Jesus,  rose 
up  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  and  gave  lucid  proof  that  the  wis- 
dom of  the  world  was  foolishness  with  God. 

The  morning  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  a  dayspring  from  on  high  to 
the  Church  in  the  wilderness  and  an  era  full  of  hope  and  of  promise  to  the 
benighted  nations.  Who  can  doubt  that  Luther  was  raised  up  by  the  spe- 
cial agency  of  God  to  counteract  the  corruptions  and  blasphemies  of  the 
Church  of  Rome? 

But  the  work  of  this  great  and  distinguished  Saxon  reformer  was  but 
in  part  a  restoration  of  what  had  been  lost  in  the  lapse  of  those  ages  of 
apostasy  from  the  doctrines  and  morals  of  Christianity  which  had  pre- 
ceded. Many  of  the  abominations  of  the  papal  hierarchy  were  brought 
to  light,  the  blasphemous  claims  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  to  grant  indul- 
gences, remove  penalties,  and  remit  sins  of  all  sorts  were  exposed  and  de- 
nounced with  a  clearness  of  argument  and  zeal  of  moral  courage  worthy  of 
the  cause  of  truth  and  of  the  illustrious  agents  who  were  engaged  in  its  pro- 
motion. Learning  and  philosophy,  always  favorable  to  the  progress  of  the 
gospel  when  guided  by  the  light  of  the  revelation  of  God,  were  directed 
into  pure  channels  and  rendered  efficient  auxiliaries  in  the  advancement  of 
the  Reformation.  Universities  became  the  seats  of  theological  discussion, 
which  seldom,  if  ever,  closed  without  obvious  advantage  to  the  cause  of  the 
reformers.  Princes  long  subject  to  the  papal  domination,  wakened  up  by 
the  uncompromising  Saxon,  began  to  think  and  speak  with  freedom  on 
matters  of  faith  and  practice.  In  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  numer- 
ous persons  of  distiction  and  influence  were  employed  by  the  Divine  Prov- 
idence as  instruments  in  removing  the  works  of  darkness  and  repairing 
the  ruins  of  the  beautiful  temple  of  Christianity.  But  while  this  work  was 
in  progress,  there  were  more  outside  than  inside  workmen,  and  the  master 
builders  were  not  always  agreed  with  regard  to  the  plan  which  should  be 
pursued,  the  materials  which  should  be  used,  or  the  workmen  who  should 
be  employed  in  completing  the  noble  superstructure.  In  such  a  state  of 
things,  it  should  not  be  considered  marvelous  that  a  portion  of  wood,  hay, 
and  stubble  should  be  mixed  with  the  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  and  that 
more  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  exterior  form,  scaffolding,  and  outworks 
of  the  building  than  to  the  perfection  and  beauty  of  the  interior  workman- 
ship. 

Although  this  and  the  succeeding  century  was  a  glorious  era  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church,  presenting  a  grand  constellation  of  burning  and  shining 


Appendix 

lights  in  the  cause  of  truth,  yet  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  Church  and 
State  were  so  incorporated  as  to  produce  an  unhappy  effect  on  the  religious 
state  of  the  clergy  and  consequently  to  hinder  in  some  measure  the  prog- 
ress of  Christian  piety.  Prelates  of  the  Reformed  Church,  while  they 
held  in  just  abhorrence  the  claims  and  pretensions  of  the  papal  see,  saw 
nothing  inconsistent  with  the  religion  of  a  crucified  Saviour  or  with  their 
calling  as  his  ministers  in  being  themselves  lords  temporal  as  well  as  spirit- 
ual. Whatever  might  have  been  the  external  state  of  the  different  branches 
of  the  Church  at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it  is  very 
obvious  that  there  was  a  great  deficiency  on  the  part  of  the  ministry. 
While  the  prescribed  forms  of  religion  were  regarded  with  scrupulous  ob- 
servance, the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the  gospel  were  too  seldom  pro- 
claimed and  too  feebly  enforced.  The  result  was  a  general  defect  in  vital 
godliness  and  a  corresponding  laxity  in  moral  discipline.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  state  of  things  that  the  great  and  blessed  revival  of  religion 
commenced  at  Oxford  early  in  this  century. 

The  Rev.  John  Wesley  was  the  chief  instrument  in  the  rise  and  early 
progress  of  this  revival.  The  extraordinary  acuteness  and  strength  of  his 
mental  powers,  the  variety  and  depth  of  his  learning,  his  moral  courage, 
his  persevering  zeal,  and  the  strict  purity  of  his  life,  all  combined,  qualified 
him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  this  great  work. 

And  here  it  should  be  remembered  that  it  was  not  the  articles  of  faith 
or  the  liturgy  of  the  English  Church  with  which  Mr.  Wesley  contended 
or  which  he  desired  to  change  or  reform,  but  he  was  rather  the  firm  defend- 
er of  both.  And  why  should  we  who  acknowledge  him,  under  God,  as  the 
founder  of  that  religious  body  of  which  we  are  members  place  ourselves  in 
opposition  to  either?  But  while  this  great  and  good  man  was  well  satisfied 
with  the  doctrine  and  government  of  the  Establishment,  he  clearly  saw 
the  extensive  defect  of  experimental  and  practical  religion  both  with  the 
clergy  and  laity.  To  remove  this  defect  and  restore  the  principles  and 
blessings  of  primitive  Christianity  to  the  Church  were  the  great  objects 
of  his  studies  and  his  labors.  But  the  era  of  which  we  now  speak,  embrac- 
ing the  history  of  Wesley  and  those  who  were  workers  together  with  him, 
is  distinctly  marked  by  several  very  important  points. 

Mr.  Wesley,  notwithstanding  the  prejudices  of  his  education,  became 
fully  convinced  that  bishops  and  presbyters  were  the  same  order  in  the 
primitive  Church,  and  consequently  that  the  doctrine  of  succession  and 
exclusive  right  of  ordination  existing  in  the  bishop  as  maintained  by  many 
of  the  prelate?  of  the  English  hierarchy  were  not  founded  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church  or  warranted  by  any  practice  in  the  uncorrupt- 
ed  period  of  her  history.  In  addition  to  this  conviction,  the  providence 
of  God  in  an  extraordinary  manner  led  Mr.  Wesley  to  perceive  that  a  di- 
vine call  to  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  and  the  qualifications  for  this 
holy  vocation  were  not  confined  to  those  who  were  regularly  educated  for 
the  sacred  office,  but  that  in  the  wisdom  of  Him  who  "seeth  not  as  man 
seeth,"  the  "foolish  things  of  the  world  were  frequently  chosen  to  con- 
26 


402  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

found  the  wise."  Hence  his  admirable  and  truly  scriptural  test  of  those  who 
think  they  are  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach. 

The  employment  of  "lay  preachers" — that  is,  persons  who  were  either 
educated  for  the  ministry  or  in  the  clerical  orders  in  the  Established  Church 
— forms  a  very  prominent  and  important  feature  of  the  Wesley  an  system, 
which,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  has  been  productive  of  the  most  extensive 
and  happy  results  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Another  character- 
istic of  this  system  is  the  organization  and  establishment  of  an  eff  cient  itin- 
erant ministry  in  conformity  to  that  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  and  in  accordance  with  the  prac- 
tice of  the  apostles  and  their  immediate  successors  in  the  work  of  evangel- 
izing the  earth.  As  the  commencement  of  this  era  in  the  history  of  the 
Reformed  Churches  was  distinguished  by  the  revival  of  the  pure  doctrines 
and  moral  discipline  of  the  gospel,  so  its  extension,  and  almost  unparalleled 
progress,  have  been  attended  by  the  powerful  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  turn  men  from  "darknesss  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,"  and  to  build  them  up  in  that  "holiness  without  which  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord,"  is  the  grand  design  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  And  to 
accomplish  this  design  Christ  must  be  preached  in  all  his  offices.  The 
whole  system  of  his  religion  must  be  proclaimed.  Its  doctrines,  precepts, 
promises,  and  threatenings  must  be  clearly  set  forth  and  enforced.  The 
whole  must  be  brought  home  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  the  hearers. 
Sinners  must  be  made  to  feel  their  sinfulness  and  guilt  and  to  know  that 
salvation  is  by  "grace  through  faith"  alone. 

These  are,  and  have  been  from  the  beginning,  the  leading  features  of  the 
Wesleyan  revival.  In  its  rise  and  progress  it  has  enlisted  the  influence  of 
a  considerable  number  of  men  distinguished  as  much  for  their  extraordi- 
nary talents  and  their  profound  learning  as  for  the  depth  of  their  piety,  the 
purity  of  their  lives,  and  the  extent  and  usefulness  of  their  labors.  But  by 
far  the  greater  part  of  those  ministers  who  have  been  honored  of  God  as 
instruments  in  the  advancement  of  this  great  and  extensive  revival  of  prim- 
itive Christianity  have  been  men  who  made  no  pretensions  to  talents  of 
a  superior  order  or  to  the  peculiar  advantages  of  learning  and  science. 
They  have  been  called,  in  the  wisdom  of  the  divine  councils,  from  almost 
every  profession  and  occupation  in  life.  Thus  has  it  been  shown  in  this 
latter  day,  as  well  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  dispensation,  that  the 
proud  pretensions  of  reason  and  philosophy,  however  they  may  be  viewed 
by  men,  are  of  little  account  with  God,  and  that  the  success  of  the  "preach- 
ing of  the  cross"  essentially  depends  upon  the  doctrine  of  that  promise: 
"  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Among  the 
instruments  thus  called  and  qualified  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  in 
the  progress  of  this  work,  William  McKendree,  that  beloved  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ  whose  Christian  and  ministerial  character  this  discourse  is 
designed  to  exhibit  as  an  example  for  those  who  shall  come  after,  occupies 
an  elevated  and  distinguished  station. 

In  my  attempt  to  accomplish  this  object  I  shall  endeavor,  first,  to  point 
out  the  character  which  the  apostle  has  given  of  a  Christian  pastor  or  min- 


Appendix 

ister;  and,  secondly,  show  wherein  this  character  has  been  sustained  and 
exemplified  in  the  Christian  life,  ministerial  labors,  and  official  oversight 
of  the  late  lamented  senior  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

1.  The  words  of  our  text  lead  us  back  in  our  meditations  and  researches  to 
the  original  fountains  of  gospel  truth.  They  point  us  to  the  origin  of  a 
system  which  claims  to  be  of  divine  appointment  and  designed  to  be  per- 
petuated to  the  end  of  time.  They  direct  our  attention  to  the  first  Church 
or  assembly  ever  organized  on  the  principles  of  the  Christian  institutes — 
the  Church  at  Jerusalem.  In  this  city  prophets  had  pointed  to  the  Messiah 
and  proclaimed  the  laws  and  the  conquests  of  his  kingdom.  Here  Jesus 
Christ,  the  author  of  our  salvation,  in  his  own  person,  had  taught  the  doc- 
trines of  that  kingdom.  Here  he  was  persecuted,  arrested,  crucified.  Here 
he  slept  in  the  tomb,  and  here  he  rose  triumphant  from  the  dominion  of 
death  and  the  grave.  At  this  city  he  directed  his  chosen  apostles  to  re- 
main "  until  they  were  endued  with  power  from  on  high,"  as  an  essential 
qualification  for  the  work  he  had  appointed  them  to  do.  Here  they  re- 
ceived that  power  in  the  promised  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Here  the  fountain  was  opened,  and  from  here  the  "law  went 
forth"  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  flowed  out.  In  this  city  the  apostles  of 
Jesus,  who  had  received  their  instructions  from  the  lips  of  their  divine 
Master,  planted  the  first  Christian  Church.  Probably  we  have  in  the  or- 
ganization of  this  Church  as  perfect  a  model  as  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
The  relation  and  reciprocal  duties  of  the  pastor  and  his  flock,  of  the  min- 
ister and  "those  over  whom  he  was  appointed  minister,"  are  set  forth  in 
the  view  given  of  this  Church  with  a  simplicity  and  beauty  strikingly 
characteristic  of  the  purest  age  of  Christianity. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  the  precise  formula  observed  in  the  Church  at 
Jerusalem  is  essential  to  the  existence  of  every  Christian  community.  In- 
deed, it  appears  highly  probable  that  such  internal  regulations  and  external 
forms  as  were  not  essential  to  the  doctrines,  order,  and  moral  discipline 
of  the  "household  of  faith,"  as  laid  down  by  Christ  and  his  inspired  apos- 
tles, were  varied  in  the  primitive  Churches  as  change  of  place  or  circum- 
stances might  require.  But  as  the  Church  is  the  "body  of  Christ,"  and 
"the  temple  of  the  living  God,"  the  preservation  of  an  order  of  ministers 
appointed  by  Christ,  holding  steadfastly  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  revelation,  the  preaching  of  the  pure  word  of  God,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  discipline  and  ordinances  of  the  gospel  institution  are 
essential  to  its  very  existence.  Without  these  there  can  be  no  living  Church, 
no  assembly  or  community  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God.  All  associa- 
tions professedly  Christian  in  which  all  or  any  of  these  points  are  totally 
wanting  or  materially  defective  have  either  never  been  formed  "according 
to  the  will  of  our  Lord  Jessus  Christ,"  or  they  have  fallen  and  become 
apostate.  In  view  of  these  prerequsites  as  the  essential  constituents  of  a 
Christian  Church  we  observe — 

(1)  That  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in  the  apostolic  age,  were  distin- 
guished by  their  special  calling  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  No  one  can 
have  carefully  examined  the  history  of  the  divine  Saviour,  as  furnished  in  the 


404  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

holy  evangelists,  without  having  perceived  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
has  been  ordained  as  the  means  of  faith  and  salvation  and  as  the  chief  instru- 
ment by  which  the  Christian  cause  is  to  extend  and  finally  cover  the  whole 
earth.  It  is  equally  plain  from  the  same  records  that  the  appointment  of  the 
agents  by  whom  this  work  is  to  be  carried  on  until  finally  completed  is  the 
exclusive  prerogative  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  prerogative  which  he  has  never  del- 
egated, which  he  now  holds  in  his  own  hands,  and  will  continue  to  hold  till 
the  end  of  time.  He  commenced  the  exercise  of  this  authority  in  the  selec- 
tion of  his  first  disciples  to  attend  his  person  and  receive  his  instructions,  pre- 
paratory to  the  work  which  was  afterwards  assigned  them.  He  continued 
the  exercise  of  it  by  sending  out  these  disciples  at  different  times  on  errands 
of  mercy  while  he  continued  upon  earth.  But  the  most  signal  exhibition 
of  that  authority  was  made  after  his  resurrection  and  immediately  before 
he  ascended  up  into  heaven  to  take  possession  of  the  mediatorial  govern- 
ment at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  This  was  a  period  in  the  history  of 
human  salvation  pregnant  with  interests  of  the  deepest  concern  to  man. 
It  was  a  point  in  time  when  the  "Prince  of  life,  Immanual,  God  with  us," 
gave  his  last  and  fullest  instructions  in  regard  to  the  means  and  manner  of 
the  promulgation  of  his  kingdom  upon  earth.  His  right  of  legislation  and 
government  was  asserted:  "All  power  is  given  unto  me,  both  in  heaven  and 
in  earth."  The  commission  given  to  the  apostles,  who  were  present  on  the 
occasion,  and  to  all  the  true  ministers  of  the  gospel  salvation  is  declared  to 
be  by  virtue  of  this  right:  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,"  etc. 
"And  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Who  can 
doubt  that  both  the  right  of  appointment  and  the  annexed  promise  of  per- 
petual aid  from  the  continual  presence  of  Christ  embrace  the  succession 
of  the  Christian  ministry  through  all  future  time? 

The  principles  which  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  had  established  at 
this  memorable  period  and  which  were  to  remain  unchanged  through  all 
the  succeeding  ages  of  the  world  were  strikingly  illustrated  and  confirmed 
shortly  afterwards  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  To  the  commission  and  spe- 
cial instruction  with  regard  to  its  execution  was  now  added  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  the  Father.  By  his  agency 
the  chosen  apostles  were  "endued  with  power  from  on  high"  and  were 
thus  qualified  to  go  forth  in  their  Master's  employment  with  zeal  and  au- 
thority which  their  adversaries  were  not  able  to  gainsay  or  resist.  It  was 
the  zeal  of  conviction,  it  was  the  authority  of  truth,  it  was  the  power  of 
God.  As  the  work  advanced,  others  were  called  to  participate  in  the  blessed 
employment,  but  in  no  instance  was  anyone  admitted  to  labor  in  this 
vineyard  without  proof  of  his  being  specially  called  and  chosen  of  God.  It 
is  worthy  of  our  particular  attention  that  when  the  apostles  and  disciples 
were  assembled  at  Jerusalem  after  the  ascension  of  their  divine  Master  and 
before  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  filling  the  vacancy  in  the  apostolic 
college  occasioned  by  the  apostasy  of  Judas,  they  made  no  pretensions  to 
any  right  or  authority  to  determine  on  the  person  who  should  fill  that  holy 
office.  They  were  fully  persuaded  of  the  exclusive  right  of  him  who  had 
chosen  them  at  first  and  who  had  so  recently  assured  them  that  all  author- 


Appendix.  405 

rity  in  heaven  and  earth  was  in  his  hands.  And  in  this  persuasion,  having 
selected  two  from  their  little  company,  they  prayed,  and  said:  "Thou,  Lord, 
which  knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men,  show  whether  of  these  two  thou  hast 
chosen." 

The  answer  was  given  by  lot,  and  he  whom  God  had  chosen  "was  num- 
bered with  the  eleven  apostles."  This  is  the  last  instance  of  the  use  of  the 
lot  recorded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  A  different  method  by  which  God's 
election  of  men  for  the  work  of  the  ministry  might  be  known  was  intro- 
duced on  the  day  of  Pentecost  and  will  remain  in  the  Church  till  the  "  con- 
summation of  all  things."  All  true  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  have  been 
"moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel.  By  his  in- 
fluence they  have  been  enlightened  and  persuaded  of  their  holy  vocation, 
and  by  his  agency  success  has  attended  their  labors  and  support  and  com- 
fort administered  to  their  souls  in  all  their  tribulations.  It  is  therefore  very 
meet  and  right  that  the  Church  should  continually  pray  that  the  Lord 
would  pour  upon  all  the  ministers  of  his  sanctuary  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the 
office  and  work  to  which  he  has  called  them. 

The  beautiful  climax  of  the  apostle  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  verses 
of  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  an  inimitable  illustra- 
tion of  this  doctrine.  Salvation  is  God's  free  gift  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
and  this  grace  God  has  richly  provided  in  the  gospel  of  his  dear  Son.  And 
whosoever  will  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  receive  this  salvation. 
"But  how  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not  believed?  and  how 
shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard?  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher?  and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be 
sent?"  The  message  to  be  published  is  the  gospel  of  peace,  the  word  of 
reconciliation,  glad  tidings  of  good  things,  and  he  who  publishes  it  must  be 
sent  by  its  Author.  A  great  man  has  the  following  admirable  remark  with 
reference  to  this  message:  "None  can  effectually  preach  this,  unless  he 
have  a  divine  mission.  The  matter  must  come  from  God,  and  the 
person  who  proclaims  it  must  have  both  authority  and  unction  from  on 
high."  Hence  it  will  appear  who  are  truly  in  that  "order  of  succession" 
appointed  according  to  the  will  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Whatever  may 
be  the  vain  pretensions  of  men,  those,  and  those  only  who  are  sent  of 
God,  who  are  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  are  in  this  succession. 

(2)  Being  thus  called  and  qualified,  the  first  ministers  of  the  gospel  went 
forth  "preaching  the  word  of  God."  The  word  of  God  here  means  the 
whole  system  of  the  gospel  revelation,  embracing  the  doctrines,  precepts, 
and  sanctions  therein  contained,  especially  what  appertained  to  the  char- 
acter, office,  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Mediator  and  Saviour. 

One  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the  primitive  preaching  of  the  gospel  word 
was  the  purity  in  which  the  doctrines  of  Christ  were  maintained  and  taught 
to  the  people.  The  Jewish  teachers  were  exceedingly  zealous  of  the  tra- 
ditions of  their  fathers  and,  corrupting  the  oracles  of  God,  "taught  for  doc- 
trines the  commandments  of  men."  The  schools  of  learning  and  philos- 
ophy became  the  authors  and  patrons  of  theories  as  absurd  and  conflicting 


406  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

in  their  principles  as  immoral  and  destructive  in  their  tendency.  But 
while  "darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people,"  the 
servants  of  Jesus  were  holding  out  the  lamp  of  life  and  pointing  the  nations 
to  the  "Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  While  the 
"Jews  required  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  sought  after  wisdom,"  while  a  cor- 
rupt and  superstitious  religion  in  alliance  with  "science  falsely  so  called" 
was  enslaving  the  minds  of  men  with  the  most  dangerous  errors  and  lead- 
ing them  from  God  and  from  happiness,  these  unassuming  messengers  of 
truth  were  preaching  "  Christ  crucified,  Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the 
wisdom  of  God."  They  were  publishing  the  narrative  of  the  incarnation, 
crucifixion,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  proclaiming  salva- 
tion as  God's  gracious  gift  through  faith  in  his  name.  While,  after  all  the 
speculations  of  reason  and  philospohy,  the  nations  were  veiled  in  uncer- 
tainty and  doubt  with  regard  to  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a 
future  state  of  existence,  these  "unlearned"  men  declared  the  nature  and 
attributes  and  counsels  of  Jehovah  and  showed  that  "life  and  immortality 
were  brought  to  light  in  the  gospel."  But  while  they  preached  "the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ,"  the  whole  system  of  doctrine  was  applied  to 
the  experimental  and  practical  purposes  of  life  to  renew  the  hearts  and 
regulate  the  conduct  of  men.  They  had  received  the  records  of  the  truth 
of  God,  and  out  of  those  records  they  did  not  travel.  Christ  had  specially 
instructed  them  to  teach  the  nations  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  he 
had  commanded  them.  In  strict  conformity  to  these  instructions,  their 
ministry  was  always  practical.  They  "preached"  a  faith  which  was  unto 
justification,  a  faith  which  confided  in  all  the  promises  of  God,  a  faith 
which  worked  by  love  and  purified  the  heart. 

(3)  The  ministers  of  the  apostolic  age  were  distinguished  as  well  by  the 
extent  of  their  travels  and  labors  as  by  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  their 
doctrines.  Their  plan  of  preaching  the  word  of  God  was  strictly  itinerant. 
In  this  they  had  taken  the  example  of  their  Master  as  their  pattern,  his 
authority  as  their  commission,  and  his  command  as  their  obligation.  Nor 
does  it  anywhere  appear  that  they  had  any  other  view  but  to  continue  the 
operation  of  the  plan  till  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  discipled  to 
Christ  and  the  knowledge  of  God  be  as  extensive  as  the  influence  of  the 
natural  sun.  It  was  not  the  apostles  only  who  were  thus  employed  in  the 
extensive  promulgation  of  the  gospel.  The  disciples  who  were  dispersed 
from  Jerusalem  by  the  persecution  which  raged  at  the  time  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  Stephen  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word.  Among  these  were, 
doubtless,  many  of  the  "devout  men,  dwellers  at  Jerusalem,  out  of  every 
nation  under  heaven,"  who  heard  the  apostles  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
"speak,  in  their  own  tongues  in  which  they  were  born,  the  wonderful  works 
of  God."  These,  having  been  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ  by  the 
preaching  of  the  apostles,  traveled  into  their  native  countries,  testifying 
and  preaching  the  things  which  they  had  seen  and  heard.  In  this  event 
the  Divine  Providence  was  obviously  employed  in  preparing  the  way  for 
the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel.  And  it  is  a  very  remarkable  and  inter- 
esting truth  that  before  the  twelve  chosen  apostles  had  finished  their  course 


Appendix  407 

and  entered  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord,  the  word  of  God  had  been  preached 
over  a  great  part  of  the  known  world.  Had  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the 
Christian  doctrine  and  discipline  been  preserved  and  the  same  plan  of  dif- 
fusing its  heavenly  truths  perpetuated  till  the  present  time  is  it  not  highly 
probable  that  the  whole  earth  would  have  been  subdued  to  the  dominion 
of  Messiah  and  the  songs  of  salvation  to  God  and  the  Lamb  been  heard 
from  every  nation  and  kindred  and  people  and  tongue? 

(4)  The  first  Christian  ministers  were  dead  to  the  world  and  intent 
only  on  promoting  the  cause  of  their  divine  Master  and  the  salvation  of  the 
souls  of  the  people. 

In  the  administration  of  the  Word,  they  preached  not  themselves.  To 
be  the  servants  and  messengers  of  Christ,  and  as  such  the  servants  of  all  for 
his  sake,  were  the  great  objects  of  their  pursuit.  They  uniformly  spoke  of 
themselves  with  humility  and  self-distrust  and  pursued  their  arduous  em- 
ployment "in  weakness,  and  fear,  and  much  trembling."  And,  whatever 
God  had  committed  to  them  or  wrought  by  them,  they  proclaimed  them- 
selves to  be  "earthen  vessels,"  and  ascribed  the  "excellency  of  the  power" 
of  their  ministry  to  God  alone.  Jseus  Christ  was  the  end  of  their  public 
preaching  as  well  as  of  their  private  conversation.  In  all  their  words  and 
deeds  they  aimed  to  promote  his  glory  and  advance  and  establish  his  king- 
dom. The  divinity  of  his  nature,  his  participation  in  the  essential  attri- 
butes of  the  everlasting  Father,  his  unity  and  equality  in  the  Godhead,  and 
his  eternal  Sonship  were  themes  on  which  they  dwelt  with  peculiar  clear- 
ness, interest,  and  delight.  Animated  with  an  ardent  and  unconquerable 
desire  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men  which  had  been  begotten  in 
their  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  set  forth,  both  in  their  private  inter- 
course and  in  all  their  ministerial  labors,  the  deep  humiliation  to  which  the 
Lord  Jesus  submitted  for  the  redemption  and  salvation  of  the  world.  They 
continually  published  his  atoning  sacrifice,  the  blood  of  the  cross,  as  pos- 
sessing saving  efficacy  for  the  removal  of  guilt  and  pollution  and  the  great- 
ness and  the  tenderness  of  his  compassion  for  a  world  of  miserable  sinners. 
They  declared  his  veracity  in  all  his  great  and  precious  promises  by  which 
the  confidence  and  hope  of  his  people  were  to  be  encouraged  and  supported. 
In  all  these  respects — in  his  nature,  in  his  relation  to  the  Father,  in  the ' 
sufficiency  of  his  merits,  in  his  loving  kindness  and  tender  compassion,  and 
in  the  validity  of  his  promises — the  primitive  Christian  ministers  repre- 
sented Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  and  as 
such  pointed  all  men  to  him  as  an  almighty  and  immutable  Saviour.  This 
was  with  them  the  all-absorbing  subject.  The  pleasures,  the  riches,  and 
the  honors  of  the  world  were  not  the  matters  of  their  conversation  or  their 
pursuit,  but "  Christ  was  all  and  in  all." 

(5)  The  primitive  ministers  had  authority  to  rule  or  govern  in  the 
Church.    "Remember  them  that  have  [or  had!  the  rule  over  you"  and 
"obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you." 

It  was  obviously  the  end  of  the  dispensation  of  Christ  to  form  a  universal 
Church,  or  community,  of  believers,  collected  out  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  and  to  perpetuate  this  society  to  the  end  of  time.  The  fundamental 


408  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

principles  on  which  this  association  should  be  founded  and  the  moral  rules 
by  which  it  should  be  governed  were  clearly  laid  down  in  the  doctrines  and 
precepts  and  examples  of  the  adorable  Saviour. 

It  is  equally  clear  that  an  order  of  officers  charged  with  the  organization 
of  this  community,  with  the  due  administration  of  the  holy  ordinances,  and 
with  the  enforcement  of  wholesome  discipline  is  of  divine  appointment. 
While  we  consider  these  points  as  manifestly  set  forth  in  the  Christian 
institutes,  we  are  free  to  acknowledge  that  "neither  Christ  himself  nor  his 
holy  apostles  have  commanded  anything  clearly  or  expressly  concerning 
the  eternal  form  of  the  Church  and  the  precise  method  according  to  which 
it  should  be  governed."  What  I  have  here  noticed  as  being  of  divine  ap- 
pointment is,  I  apprehend,  fully  embraced  in  the  commission  which  Christ 
gave  to  his  apostles,  "  Go  ye  and  disciple  all  nations,"  convert  them  to  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  and  make  them  my  followers.  This  being  accomplished, 
"baptize  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Formally  initiate  them  as  members  of  the  great  Christian  com- 
munity and  as  belonging  to  the  heavenly  household.  And,  being  thus 
formed  into  a  body  with  the  same  faith,  interest,  and  affection,  "teach 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."  Make 
them  to  understand  the  precepts  which  you  have  received  from  me  and  en- 
force the  obligations  to  obedience. 

In  these  three  points,  if  we  include  the  ordination  of  their  successors  in 
the  sacred  office,  consisted  the  rule,  or  government,  which  the  ministers  of 
Christ,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  were  authorized  to  exercise.  And  the  end 
.of  this  government  was  the  "perfecting  of  the  saints,  and  the  edifying  of 
the  body  of  Christ."  It  was  wisely  appointed  for  the  prevention  or  cure  of 
all  disorders  in  the  Church  and  for  the  building  up  of  believers  in  their  most 
holy  faith  and  preserving  the  whole  body  in  "the  unity  of  the  Spirit  and  in 
the  bonds  of  peace."  Although  the  word  which  the  apostle  uses  in  the 
text  and  also  in  the  seventeenth  verse  to  express  the  authority  of  Christian 
pastors  and  bishops  properly  signifies  a  ruler,  or  one  having  command,  it 
is  not  a  legitimate  inference  that  this  authority  was  of  the  same  character 
.  with  that  of  civil  rulers.  It  certainly  never  was  the  design  of  Christ  or  the 
practice  of  his  apostles  to  enforce  the  discipline  of  the  gospel  by  such  pains 
and  penalties  as  properly  belong  to  the  civil  magistrate.  Indeed,  the  au- 
thority and  influence  of  the  primitive  rulers  in  the  Church,  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  true  Christian  ministers  in  every  age,  "was  founded, 
not  on  force,  but  in  the  fidelity  with  which  they  discharged  the  duties  of 
their  function  and  in  the  esteem  and  affection  of  their  flocks."  How  these 
ecclesiastical  rulers  were  to  exercise  the  authority  with  which  they  were 
invested  is  very  clearly  shown  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy  and 
.Titus  and  in  the  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter.  It  was  to  be  done  by  the  in- 
fluence of  a  godly  life,  by  examples  of  patience  and  charity  illustrative  of 
the  excellency  of  the  Christian  system  and  worthy  of  all  imitation.  "But 
be  thou  an  example  of  the  believers  in  word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in 
spirit,  in  faith,  in  purity.  Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  with  you,  taking 
the  oversight,  not  as  being  lords  [temporal  or  spiritual]  over  God's  heritage, 


Appendix  409 

but  being  ensamples  or  patterns  to  the  flock.  In  all  things  show  thyself  a 
pattern  of  good  works:  in  doctrine,  un corruptness,  gravity,  sincerity."  En- 
treaty, reproof,  and  rebuke,  with  exhortation,  complete  the  panoply  with 
which  the  ministers  of  Christ  execute  their  office  as  rulers  in  the  Church  of 
God.  "  Rebuke  not  an  elder,  but  entreat  him  as  a  father;  the  younger  men 
as  brethren;  the  elder  women,  as  mothers;  the  younger,  as  sisters,  with  all 
purity.  Reprove,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine." 
Public  censure  and  excommunication  from  the  communion  of  the  Church 
were  the  highest  punishments  which  the  ecclesiastical  rulers  were  author- 
ized to  inflict,  and  these  only  when,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Church,  the 
offenders  were  guilty  of  such  misdemeanors  as  merited  these  punishments. 
The  terrors  of  the  papal  excommunication  are  not  to  be  found  in  the  records 
of  the  primitive  Church,  and  it  appears  very  certain  that  the  administration 
of  discipline  of  the  gospel  was  never  designed  to  inflict  any  other  temporal 
penalty  than  such  as  might  result  from  the  separation  of  the  unworthy  per- 
son from  the  fellowship  of  the  Christian  community. 

If  the  preceding  observations  afford  a  correct  view  of  the  office  and  work 
of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  perceive 
that  there  is  a  corresponding  obligation  on  the  part  of  those  among  whom 
they  labor  in  word  and  doctrine.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  flock  to  esteem 
their  pastors  highly  in  love,  for  their  work's  sake;  to  cherish  for  them  sen- 
timents of  affection  and  respect;  to  seek  council  and  consolation  from  them, 
in  all  their  tribulations  and  conflicts;  to  submit  to  their  godly  admonitions, 
and  to  imitate  their  godly  examples.  And  when  it  pleases  God  to  remove 
them  from  their  militant  charge  to  his  eternal  kingdom  and  glory,  those 
among  whom  they  have  exercised  their  holy  function  should  remember 
them  with  affection,  gratitude,  and  esteem.  Without  any  apology  for 
the  length  of  the  foregoing  observations,  I  proceed — 

2.  To  show  wherein  the  character  of  a  primitive  Christian  pastor  or 
minister  has  been  sustained  and  exemplified  in  the  life,  ministerial  labors, 
and  official  oversight  of  the  late  senior  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

(1)  Bishop  McKendree  was  born  in  King  William  County,  State  of 
Virginia,  on  July  6, 1757.  His  parents,  John  and  Mary  KcKendree,  were 
both  natives  of  the  same  State.  His  father  was  a  respectable  planter,  and 
his  son  William  was  brought  up  in  the  same  occupation  and  early  taught 
the  arts  of  husbandry  and  the  habits  of  industry  and  economy.  The  Mc- 
Kendree family  had  received  their  religious  instructions  in  the  Church  of 
England,  which  at  that  time  was  the  prevailing  religion  of  the  southern 
colonies.  The  history  of  the  Church  at  that  day  affords  us  a  melancholy 
picture  of  the  state  of  Christian  morals.  "  The  clergy  were  more  fond  of 
ease  and  wealth  and  worldly  pleasure  and  gratification  than  of  the  sacred 
duties  of  their  holy  function.  The  religious  instruction  of  youth  was  much 
neglected  and  very  defective,  and  attendence  on  balls,  horse  races,  card 
tables,  and  other  places  of  amusements  was  generally  considered  not  only 
consistent  with  a  profession  of  religion  and  membership  in  the  Church,  but 
also  with  the  character  and  calling  of  those  to  whom  was  committed  the 


410  Life  and  Times  oj  Bishop  McKendree 

"cure  of  souls."  This  was  truly  a  day  of  spiritual  darkness.  But  notwith- 
standing this  lamentable  condition  of  religion  and  morals,  young  McKen- 
dree was  restrained  from  gross  immoralities  and  preserved  a  character  free 
from  reproach,  even  among  the  most  religious  of  the  day.  At  a  very  early 
period  he  was  convinced  of  the  depravity  of  his  nature,  his  conscience  be- 
came tender,  and  he  formed  resolutions  to  live  according  to  the  light  which 
he  had  received.  The  following  is  his  own  description  of  his  state  at  the 
period  of  which  we  now  speak:  "  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  sworn  more  than 
one  profane  oath  in  my  life;  yet,  as  far  back  as  memory  serves,  I  am  con- 
scious of  the  prevalence  of  evil  propensities,  of  a  heart  disposed  to  wicked- 
ness, so  that,  notwithstanding  the  restraints  by  which  I  was  kept  within 
the  bounds  of  a  respectable  morality,  my  heart  was  far  from  being  right 
with  God ;  it  was  deceitful  and  desperately  wicked.  Of  this  deplorable  state 
of  things  I  became  exquisitely  sensible  by  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  at 
school  when  I  was  but  a  small  boy.  For  want  of  proper  instruction,  my 
apprehension  of  God  the  Redeemer  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  very  super- 
ficial. I  literally  'understood  as  a  child,'  and  with  the  simplicity  of  a  child 
I  yielded  to  the  dictates  of  conscience,  refrained  from  what  appeared  to  be 
wrong,  and,  as  a  child,  endeavored  to  imitate  the  examples  of  those  holy 
men  of  God  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures."  Had  these  impressions  been 
cherished  by  pious  instructors  and  by  parents  who  had  the  power  as  well 
as  the  form  of  godliness,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  amiable  youth, 
like  young  Timothy,  would  have  from  a  child  known  the  Holy  Scriptures 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  have  made  him  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  thereby  prepared  the  way  for  his  entering  the 
arduous  work  of  the  gospel  ministry  at  a  much  earlier  period  of  his  life  than 
he  did.  But  for  the  want  of  such  helps  and  in  consequence  of  opposition 
and  discouragements  from  those  who  should  have  taught  him  the  way  of 
righteousness  and  aided  him  to  walk  therein  at  this  tender  age,  his  im- 
pressions were  weakened,  conscience  became  more  inclined  to  slumber, 
and  his  religious  resolutions  were  shaken.  But  still  the  fear  of  God  did  not 
forsake  him.  It  was  about  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  by  which  the  colonies  were  finally  seperated  from  the 
British  government,  that  the  Methodist  preachers,  then  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  first  visited  that  section  of  Virginia  in  which 
the  McKendree  family  resided.  William  at  this  time  was  about  nineteen 
years  of  age,  possessed  with  an  exquisite  sensibility,  and  a  heart  all  bouyant 
with  anticipation.  The  ministry  of  the  word  was  attended  by  the  power  of 
the  Spirit,  and  many  were  convinced  that  "these  men  were  the  servants  of 
the  most  high  God."  Those  convictions  which  had  in  a  great  measure  be- 
come extinguished  by  the  amusements  of  the  world  were  now  revived  and 
strengthened  in  the  mind  of  this  interesting  young  man.  He  says  of  him- 
self: "I  yielded  to  conviction  and  resolved  to  lead  a  new  life."  In  conform- 
ity to  this  resolution,  he  proposed  to  unite  with  the  Methodist  society  as 
a  seeker  of  religion  and  was  received  on  trial.  But  here  again  his  resolution 
was  shaken,  and,  halting  by  the  way,  he  failed  to  obtain  the  prize.  His  un- 
disguised representation  of  his  case  clearly  shows  the  danger  of  awakened 


Appendix  411 

persons  associating  with  those  companions,  however  civil  they  may  be, 
who  neither  love  nor  fear  God,  especially  before  age  and  experience  have 
fortified  the  heart. 

Having  noticed  his  connection  with  the  society,  he  adds:  "But  my  at- 
tachment to  worldly  associates,  who  were  civil  and  respectful  in  their  de- 
portment had  grown  with  my  growth,  and  my  conviction  was  not  accom- 
panied with  sufficient  firmness  to  dissolve  the  connection;  and  their  future 
conduct  being  accommodated  to  my  reformed  manners,  I  continued  to 
enjoy  the  friendship  both  of  the  society  and  of  the  world,  but  in  a  very  im- 
perfect degree.  They  continued  to  counteract  and  impair  each  other,  un- 
til the  love  of  the  world  prevailed,  and  my  relish  for  genuine  piety  departed. 
I  peaceably  retired  from  society,  while  my  conduct  continued  to  secure 
their  friendship."  In  this  situation,  with  no  material  change  in  his  reli- 
gious state  except  a  gradual  decline  of  his  concern  for  the  salvation  of  his 
soul,  he  continued  for  several  years.  But  his  abiding  conviction  of  the 
importance  and  necessity  of  religion  and  his  exquisite  sensibility  to  con- 
sistency of  character  preserved  him  from  gross  immoralities  and  prevented 
a  rapid  progress  in  the  way  of  sin.  In  the  year  1787,  he  being  about  thirty 
years  of  age,  a  powerful  and  extensive  revival  if  religion  commenced  in  the 
Brunswick  Circuit,  in  which  he  lived,  under  the  ministry  of  that  devoted 
servant  of  Christ,  the  Rev.  John  Easter.  In  the  course  of  this  year  Mr. 
Easter  added  about  twelve  hundred  members  to  the  Church.  This  was  a 
year  of  the  deepest  interest  to  McKendree,  it  was  the  year  of  his  conver- 
sion to  God,  the  year  in  which  he  experienced  that  inward  and  spiritual 
revelation  of  the  Son  of  God  which  was  an  indispensable  qualification  for 
preaching  his  unsearchable  riches.  He  records  this  eventful  change  in  the 
following  expressive  terms:  "My  convictions  were  renewed.  They  were 
deep  and  pungent.  The  great  deep  of  the  heart  was  broken  up.  Its  deceit 
and  desperately  wicked  nature  were  disclosed.  And  the  awful,  the  eternally 
ruinous  consequences  clearly  appeared.  My  repentance  was  sincere.  I 
was  desirous,  and  became  willing,  to  be  saved  on  any  terms.  And  after  a 
sore  and  sorrowful  travail  of  three  days,  which  were  employed  in  hearing 
Mr.  Easter  and  in  fasting  and  prayer  while  the  man  of  God  was  showing  a 
large  congregation  the  way  of  salvation  by  faith  with  a  clearness  which  at 
once  astonished  and  encouraged  me,  I  ventured  my  all  on  Christ.  In  a 
moment  my  soul  was  relieved  of  a  burden  too  heavy  to  be  borne  and  joy 
instantly  succeeded  sorrow !  For  a  short  space  I  was  fixed  in  silent  adora- 
tion, giving  glory  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  goodness  to  such  an  unworthy 
creature."  Although  his  evidence  of  acceptance  with  God  was  so  clear  as 
to  remove  all  doubt  from  his  mind  and  enable  him  in  humble  confidence 
to  cry,  "Abba,  Father!"  it  was  but  a  short  time  before  he  was  perplexed 
with  doubts  and  fears  relative  to  the  reality  of  the  change.  In  this  state  of 
uncertainty  he  continued  for  six  weeks.  But  notwithstanding  his  exercise 
was  deep  and  sorrowful,  he  was  graciously  supported  and  received  many 
encouraging  manifestations.  "But,  "  to  use  his  own  words,  "instead  of 
receiving  in  faith,  and  giving  glory  to  God,  I  reasoned  all  into  uncertainty 
and  had  multiplied  perplexity  and  sorrow  for  my  reward."  At  the  close  of 


412  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

this  severe  conflict  he  received  a  new  and  full  assurance  of  his  adoption  into 
the  heavenly  family,  in  regard  to  which  blessed  event  he  says:  "But, 
thanks  be  to  God,  who,  by  a  manifestation  of  truth,  accompanied  by  its 
own  evidence,  removed  all  my  doubts,  I  was  confirmed  in  the  faith  of  the 
gospel,  and  of  my  personal  acceptance,  in  which  I  have  remained  stead- 
fast to  the  present  day.  Many  have  been  my  imperfections  and  failures, 
and  I  have  had  convictions  and  repentance  for  them;  but  nothing  of  the 
kind  has  shaken  my  confidence  in  the  reality  of  the  change  wrought  in  me 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  at  my  conversion."  Soon  after  this  he  heard  the  doc- 
trine of  "Christian  perfection  set  forth  in  its  native  simplicity,"  and  such 
were  its  peculiar  beauties  and  divine  excellences  in  his  estimation,  that  he 
immediately  resolved,  by  God's  grace,  to  seek  and  obtain  the  blessing. 
This  resolution  he  carried  into  practice,  and  the  result,  which  he  gives  in 
the  following  words,  should  be  matter  of  encouragement  to  all  who  desire 
this  blessed  state:  "Eventually,"  he  says,  "I  obtained  deliverance  from 
unholy  passions  and  found  myself  possessed  of  ability  to  resist  temptation, 
take  up  and  bear  the  cross,  and  to  exercise  faith  and  patience,  and  all  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit  in  a  manner  before  unknown."  Soon  after  he  had  ex- 
perienced the  witness  of  his  acceptance  with  God,  he  began  to  feel  a  deep 
concern  for  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  creatures,  especially  those  who  had 
been  his  particular  friends  and  associates.  With  these  he  conversed  in  pri- 
vate on  their  eternal  interest,  and  exhorted  them  with  tears  to  flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come  and  to  embrace  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  His  soul  was 
frequently  drawn  out  in  secret  prayer  with  ardent  desires  for  their  con- 
version to  God.  He  soon  began  to  exercise  in  the  public  prayer  meetings. 
The  fruits  of  these  early  labors  were  obvious.  Numbers  were  convicted, 
converted,  or  comforted  through  his  instrumentality.  It  was  but  a  few 
months  from  the  time  of  his  conversion  till  his  mind  became  deeply  exer- 
cised in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  And  these  exercises  were  great- 
ly increased  by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  experienced  and  pious  members 
of  the  siociety,  as  well  as  the  preachers,  were  deeply  impressed  with  a  con- 
viction that  it  was  his  duty  to  preach  the  gospel.  But  this  did  not  satisfy 
him.  He  wanted  for  himself  a  full  proof  of  Christ  speaking  in  him,  and  was 
fearful  of  preaching  before  he  was  sent.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Easter,  who  was 
his  spiritual  father  and  who  was  of  the  opinion  that  God  had  called  him  to  the 
work,  proposed  to  him  to  travel  with  him  round  the  circuit.  He  yielded 
to  this  proposal  with  fear  and  trembling.  On  the  one  hand  he  feared  that 
the  course  pursued  with  him  by  those  in  whose  piety  and  judgment  he  had 
great  confidence,  and  who  consequently  had  much  influence  with  him, 
might  lead  him  to  a  premature  attempt,  which  was  liable  to  eventuate  in 
the  injury  of  a  cause  which  he  most  ardently  desired  to  promote;  and  on 
the  other,  having  strong  conviction  of  duty  in  his  own  mind,  he  was  trem- 
blingly alive  to  the  consequences  of  refusing  to  obey.  His  deficiency  in  lit- 
erary acquirements,  having  had  only  a  common  English  education,  his 
conscious  wanting  of  experience  in  the  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and 
especially  his  apprehension  of  his  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  presented  to  his  mind  so  many  formidable  difficulties  in  the 


Appendix  41 

way  of  a  successful  prosecution  of  the  work  as  to  produce  the  most  severe 
conflict.  In  this  fiery  trial  he  left  Mr.  Easter  and  returned  home,  but  was 
unable  to  attend  to  business  in  consequence  of  the  deep  struggle  and  an- 
guish of  his  spirit.  In  this  way,  to  use  his  own  words,  "he  was  tossed  to  and 
fro"  until  the  sitting  of  the  Conference,  which  took  place  in  Petersburg, 
Va.  Here  he  was  recommended  by  the  preacher,  received  on  trial,  and  ap- 
pointed by  the  bishop  to  Mecklenburg  Circuit.  This  was  in  less  than  nine 
months  from  the  time  of  his  conversion.  He  was  never  licensed  as  a  local 
preacher  before  he  commenced  traveling  and  never  located  afterwards,  so 
that  he  never  sustained  the  character  of  a  local  preacher,  either  before  or 
after  he  was  admitted  into  the  Conference. 

The  state  of  his  mind  with  reference  to  his  call  to  the  ministry  at  the 
time  he  joined  the  Conference  and  for  more  than  a  year  after  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  became  fully  satisfied  of  his  duty  in  this  respect,  I  prefer 
to  give  in  his  own  words,  which  are  as  follows:  "I  went  immediately  to  the 
circuit  to  which  I  was  appointed,  relying  more  on  the  judgment  of  expe- 
rienced ministers,  in  whom  I  confided,  than  on  any  clear  conviction  of  my 
call  to  the  work;  and  when  I  yielded  to  their  judgment,  I  firmly  resolved 
not  to  deceive  them,  and  to  retire  as  soon  as  I  should  be  convinced  that  I 
was  not  called  of  God  and  to  conduct  myself  in  such  a  manner  that  if  I 
failed  my  friends  might  be  satisfied  it  was  not  for  want  of  effort  on  my  part, 
but  that  their  judgment  was  not  well  founded.  This  resolution  supported 
me  under  many  doubts  and  fears,  for  entering  into  the  work  of  a  traveling 
preacher  neither  removed  my.  doubts  nor  the  difficulties  that  attended  my 
labors.  Sustained  by  a  determination  to  make  a  full  trial,  I  resorted  to 
fasting  and  prayer,  and  waited  for  those  kind  friends  who  had  the  charge 
and  government  over  me  to  dismiss  me  from  the  work.  But  I  waited  in 
vain.  In  this  state  of  suspense,  my  reasoning  might  have  terminated  in 
discouraging  and  ruinous  conclusions  had  I  not  been  comforted  and  sup- 
ported by  the  kind  and  encouraging  manner  in  which  I  was  received  by 
aged  and  experienced  brethren,  by  the  manifest  presence  of  God  in  our 
meetings,  which  were  frequently  lively  and  profitable;  and  sometimes 
souls  were  convicted  and  converted,  which  afforded  considerable  en- 
couragement, and  by  the  union  and  communion  of  my  Saviour  in  private 
devotion,  which  he  graciously  afforded  me  in  the  intervals  of  my  very  im- 
perfect attempts  to  preach  his  gospel.  In  this  way  I  became  satisfied  of  my 
call  to  the  ministry  and  that  I  was  moving  in  the  line  of  my  duty." 

In  taking  a  summary  view  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  his  servant,  as 
previously  noticed,  the  following  particulars  are  worthy  of  our  special  at- 
tention: (a)  He  had  a  strong  conviction  in  his  own  mind  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  preach  the  gospel  and  call  sinners  to  repentance.  (6)  This  conviction 
was  strengthened  by  the  knowledge  he  had  that  pious  and  devoted  Chris- 
tians and  experienced  ministers  were  of  the  same  opinion,  (c)  The  con- 
sciousness of  his  deficiency  in  those  qualifications  which  are  requisite  for 
a  minister  of  Christ  filled  him  with  many  doubts  relative  to  his  call  to  the 
work,  (d)  He  feared  the  consequences  and  trembled  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility of  disobedience,  (e)  In  this  state  of  solicitude  and  suspense  he  en- 


Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tered  upon  the  work,  waiting  for  providential  events  to  decide  the  doubtful 
point.  (/)  But  he  waited  with  fasting  and  prayer,  (g)  The  kindness  with 
which  he  was  received  by  the  friends  of  the  Redeemer  greatly  encouraged 
him  in  his  efforts,  (h)  He  saw  the  fruits  of  his  labors;  the  presence  of  God 
was  with  him  in  the  congregations  and  sinners  were  awakened  and  convert- 
ed, (t)  He  had  sweet  communion  with  his  Saviour  in  his  private  devotions. 
(/)  By  these  means  he  was  fully  persuaded  that  he  was  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  preach.  It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  in  these  points  the  experience 
of  primitive  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  calling  is  by  the  same  divine 
agency  in  every  age.  The  promise  of  the  presence  of  Christ  extends  to  the 
end  of  time,  and  the  same  fruits  are  to  result  from  the  preaching  of  the 
word  now  as  at  the  beginning.  The  gospel  is  now,  and  will  continue  to  be, 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  And  all  true  converts  to  the  faith  of 
Christ  are  still,  as  they  ever  have  been,  seals  of  the  ministry  of  those 
through  whose  instrumentality  they  have  been  brought  out  of  darkness 
into  God's  marvelous  light.  We  cannot  speak  minutely  of  Mr.  McKendree 
during  the  first  years  of  his  ministry.  It  would  swell  this  discourse  beyond 
its  prescribed  limits.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  traveled  with  great  accept- 
ability and  usefulness  as  a  circuit  preacher  for  seven  years,  in  which  time 
he  filled  some  of  the  most  important  circuits  in  Virginia,  and  one  year  he 
was  stationed  in  the  city  of  Norfolk.  Some  of  these  were  years  of  great 
affliction  in  that  part  of  the  work  where  he  chiefly  labored.  The  schism 
which  commenced  in  the  Church  in  that  quarter  in  1791,  and  which  was 
matured  the  following  year,  threatened  an  extensive  and  ruinous  division. 
At  the  commencement  of  these  difficulties,  his  mind  was  greatly  exercised 
in  regard  to  the  course  he  ought  to  pursue.  And  at  one  time,  fearing  the 
measures  adopted  by  the  Conference  would  be  injurious  to  the  Church,  he 
declined  taking  a  regular  appointment;  but  he  soon  became  convinced  of 
his  error,  and  a  few  days  after  the  close  of  the  Conference  met  the  bishop 
and  took  a  regular  station  in  the  city  of  Norfolk.  From  this  time  he  de- 
voted himself  more  diligently  to  a  critical  examination  of  the  system  of 
government  recommended  by  Mr.  Wesley  and  adopted  by  the  General 
Conference  in  1784.  This  examination  resulted  in  a  full  conviction  that 
the  system  was  not  only  well  adapted  to  the  ends  proposed — that  is,  "to 
reform  the  continent,  and  spread  scriptural  holiness  over  these  lands" — 
but  that  it  was  agreeable  to  the  primitive  order  and  government  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Confirmed  in  his  judgment  of  the  fitness  of  the  govern- 
ment and  of  the  importance  of  preserving  a  general  itinerant  superin- 
tendency,  guarded  by  suitable  checks  and  responsibilities,  he  used  the  in- 
fluence of  his  talents  and  personal  character  in  the  most  prudent  and 
judicious  manner  to  counteract  the  effects  and  prevent  the  progress  of 
schismatical  measures.  And  there  is  good  evidence  that  his  labors  in  this 
respect  were  not  in  vain.  With  reference  to  the  early  years  of  his  min- 
istry, he  says:  "The  object  of  my  pursuit  was  the  glory  of  God,  the  salva- 
tion of  my  own  soul,  and  to  be  useful  as  a  Methodist  preacher.  For 
these  ends,  I  sincerely  sought  to  understand  the  will  of  God  in  his  gracious 
plan  of  redemption,  his  terms  of  saving  sinners,  the  duties  required  of  men 


Appendix  415 

both  before  and  after  conversion,  and  conscientiously  walk  by  and  enforce 
them  as  I  was  able;  and  I  deeply  regretted  that  my  performances  fell  so 
far  short  of  what  I  conceived  to  be  the  measure  of  so  good  a  cause.  In 
the  discharge  of  my  duties  as  a  traveling  preacher  the  rules  of  the  Church, 
and  especially  of  a  '  Methodist  preacher,'  were  my  directory.  I  therefore 
conscientiously  endeavored  not  to  break  those  rules,  but  to  keep  them. 
That  the  legimate  law  should  govern  is  a  principle  from  which  I  have  not 
knowingly  departed.  By  strictly  attending  to  this  rule  I  have  had  some 
trouble  and  affliction,  but  I  have  been  supported  by  good  conscience." 

These  are  sentiments  worthy  to  be  written  in  the  heart  and  preserved  in 
the  memory  of  those  who  succeed  him  in  the  sacred  office.  They  are  strik- 
ingly descriptive  of  the  true  character  of  the  excellent  man  who  wrote  them. 
May  his  sons  in  the  gospel  imitate  his  sincerity,  zeal,  and  fidelity! 

He  was  ordained  deacon  in  1790  and  elder  in  December,  1791.  At  the 
close  of  eight  years  as  a  regular  circuit  preacher,  in  1798,  he  was  appointed 
presiding  elder  of  a  district  in  the  Virginia  Conference.  Here  his  sphere 
of  useful  labor  was  greatly  enlarged.  This  district  extended  from  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay  over  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Alleghany  Mountains  and  embraced 
a  large  tract  of  country  on  the  western  waters.  The  rides  were  long,  and  the 
charge  required  of  the  elder  constant  preaching  and  much  attention  and 
care  in  the  management  of  the  various  and  important  business  of  the  dis- 
trict. He  records  with  gratitude  to  heaven  the  blessings  he  received  dur- 
ing the  three  years  he  continued  in  this  charge.  His  ministry  was  attended 
by  a  divine  unction.  Sinners  were  awakened  and  converted  to  God,  be- 
lievers were  comforted  and  built  up  in  their  most  holy  faith,  many  were 
added  to  the  Church,  and  the  field  of  labor  was  considerably  enlarged.  In 
those  days  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  views  of  Methodist 
preachers,  whether  on  circuit  or  districts,  to  seek  the  enlargement  of  the 
bounds  of  their  work  and  pray  earnestly  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send 
forth  laborers  to  cultivate  the  field.  The  oversight  of  the  district,  in  the 
administration  of  the  discipline,  was  conducted  with  great  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  preachers  and  members.  The  spirit 
of  schism,  which  had  previously  prevailed  in  some  parts  of  the  district, 
greatly  subsided,  and  the  love  of  union,  peace,  and  order  was  revived. 
Our  venerable  departed  friend  comprehensively  records  the  events  of  the 
time  he  employed  on  this  charge  in  the  following  sententious  manner: 
"  On  this  station  I  was  blessed  with  many  friends  abundant  in  kind  offices 
and  some  of  them  able  counselors.  We  were  blessed  with  a  revival  of  re- 
ligion. Many  professed  to  obtain  regenerating  grace  and  joined  the  Church. 
The  members  provoked  one  another  to  love  and  good  works,  and  their  ad- 
vancement in  the  divine  life  was  evident.  The  abundant  labors  and  care 
which  the  charge  imposed  were  too  great  for  my  strength;  my  studies  were 
therefore  partially  prevented  by  attention  to  other  branches  of  duty,  and 
my  nervous  system  was  somewhat  impaired.  But  I  was  abundantly  com- 
pensated in  having  intimate  union  and  communion  with  the  adorable 
Saviour,  and  the  increasing  prosperity  of  the  Church  at  once  invigorated 


416  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

my  zeal  and  increased  my  joy  in  the  Lord."  Thus  he  closed  his  extensive 
and  arduous  labors  on  the  district. 

In  1799  he  was  appointed  to  a  district  in  the  Baltimore  Conference  con- 
tiguous to  that  on  which  he  had  traveled  the  three  proceeding  years.  This 
district  was  little  less  in  extent  of  territory  than  the  former.  It  extended 
from  the  Chesapeake  Bay  over  the  Blue  Ridge  and  terminated  at  the  foot 
of  the  AUeghany  Mountains.  This  was  to  him  a  year  of  labor  and  trials; 
but  he  says:  "They  were  forgotten  in  overwhelming  communion  with  God 
and  reviving  and  encouraging  interviews  with  my  followers.  Here,"  he 
adds,  "I  found  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel  by  whose  example  I  was  edi- 
fied and  comforted." 

In  the  spring  of  1800  he  was  returned  to  the  district  from  which  he  had 
been  taken  the  year  before,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Bishops  Asbury 
and  Whatcoat  passed  through  the  district  and  took  him  with  them  to  the 
Western  Conference,  which  met  at  Bethel  in  October.  Here  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  oversight  of  the  whole  Conference,  in  the  character  of  a 
district,  which  embraced  the  State  of  Kentucky  and  that  part  of  Virginia 
west  of  the  Great  Kanawha  River,  East  and  West  Tennessee,  and  all  the 
settled  territory  west  of  the  Ohio  River,  including  what  is  now  the  State 
of  Ohio,  and  an  extensive  mission  in  the  Illinios.  The  Natchez  Mission 
was  also  connected  with  his  charge.  He  had  now  to  travel  about  fifteen 
hundred  miles  to  compass  his  district;  and  the  whole  extent  of  it,  with  the 
exception  of  East  Tennessee  and  that  part  of  Virginia  which  it  included, 
was  a  new  and  rapidly  populating  country.  This  was  a  field  of  labor  and 
enterprise  well  suited  to  the  enlightened  views  and  ardent  devotion  of 
this  excellent  minister  of  Christ.  It  was  a  work  worthy  of  apostles,  and  one 
which  required  the  zeal  of  apostles  to  accomplish  it.  He  entered  into  it 
with  a  deep  sense  of  his  dependence  upon  divine  aid  and  with  that  vigorous 
and  persevering  action  which,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  was  attended  with 
abundant  success.  It  must  be  recollected  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the 
country  embraced  in  his  new  charge  was  just  settling  with  emigrants  from 
the  old  States,  who  were  subject  to  all  the  inconveniences  and  privations 
common  to  the  first  settlers  in  all  new  countries.  Small  companies  of  these 
emigrants  would  locate  themselves  in  neighborhoods  many  miles  from  each 
other,  without  any  other  method  of  intercourse  than  the  pocket  compass 
or  trees  marked  with  the  ax  or  the  tops  of  underbrush  bent  down  and  half 
broken.  These  were  the  landmarks  and  highways  of  our  McKendree 
through  a  large  part  of  the  vast  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  his  wise 
and  benevolent  plan,  with  the  handful  of  preachers  in  his  charge,  to  advance 
with  the  increasing  population  of  the  country  and  to  plant  the  standard  of 
the  cross  and  preach  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  in  the  most  frontier  settle- 
ments. Pursuing  this  judicious  course,  the  field  of  labor  continued  to  en- 
large in  proportion  to  the  rapid  advance  of  emigration.  In  the  prosecution 
of  this  plan,  he  and  his  fellow  laborers  (of  precious  memory)  had  necessarily 
to  encounter  and  overcome  many  formidable  difficulties.  They  were  fre- 
quently ministers  of  gospel  consolation  to  the  people  in  their  camps  or  cab- 
ins in  the  woods  or  canebrakes  before  their  fields  were  sufficiently  opened  to 


Appendix  417 

raise  a  comfortable  support  for  their  families.  In  getting  to  them,  for  want 
of  roads  or  paths,  they  were  conducted  through  the  trackless  woods;  and 
for  want  of  bridges  or  boats,  they  swam  creeks  and  rivers.  They  carried 
their  provisions  for  man  and  beast  on  their  horses,  cooked  their  simple 
meals  in  the  wilderness,  slept  at  night  on  their  blankets  (frequently  inter- 
rupted by  the  company  and  howling  of  wolves),  and  in  the  morning  went 
on  their  way  rejoicing.  The  following  is  the  description  of  these  western 
scenes  drawn  by  our  venerable  friend,  whose  experience  had  qualified  him 
to  give  a  striking  picture.  He  says:  "While  on  the  way  through  these 
frontier  settlements,  if  we  came  to  a  creek  or  a  river  without  a  boat  or  ca- 
noe or  log  we  had  the  privilege  of  swimming  the  stream,  and  when  safely 
landed  on  the  other  bank,  it  was  a  consolation  to  reflect  on  having  left  that 
obstruction  behind  and  that  the  way  to  the  next  lay  open  and  plain  before 
us.  If  night  overtook  us  before  we  could  reach  a  house,  it  was  our  privilege 
to  gather  wood  where  we  could  find  it,  make  a  fire,  eat  our  morsel,  and  sup- 
plicate a  throne  of  grace  with  as  free  access  as  in  a  palace  or  a  church.  Be- 
ing weary,  we  rested  sweetly  and  securely  under  divine  protection.  And 
when  we  arrived  at  our  intended  place,  if  the  accommodations  were  of  the 
humblest  kind,  we  had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  being  received  with 
a  hearty  welcome  and  accommodated  with  the  best  the  family  could  afford; 
and  though  very  inferior  in  the  estimation  of  the  delicate  and  those  accus- 
tomed to  sumptuous  fare,  yet  all  the  real  wants  of  nature  were  supplied. 
We  ate  heartily,  slept  sweetly,  and  rejoiced  with  the  pious  and  affectionate 
people,  who  received  and  treated  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  as  angels  of 
God;  and,  above  all,  when  the  time  arrived  for  us  to  deliver  our  message, 
the  people  flocked  together  and  seemed  to  wait  to  hear  what  God  the  Lord 
would  say.  The  prayers  of  the  pious  ascended  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  divine 
energy  attended  the  word  preached,  sinners  were  convicted  of  their  sins, 
many  were  converted  to  God,  and  the  Chruch  enlarged  and  built  up  in 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints."  In  this  vast  western  work  he  continued 
to  labor  as  a  presiding  elder  from  the  fall  of  1800  till  the  spring  of  1808.  In 
view  of  the  whole,  he  says:  "My  appointments  required  much  riding,  I 
preached  often,  and  sustained  a  great  charge;  and  yet  I  esteem  those  among 
the  happiest  days  of  my  life.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  in  the  midst 
of  privations  and  many  exposures  my  impaired  constitution  was  restored 
and  my  health  greatly  improved.  I  enjoyed  peace  and  consolation  through 
faith  and  was  enabled  to  walk  with  God."  During  the  eight  years  of  his 
labor  in  this  Western  Valley,  the  work  was  greatly  enlarged,  and  a  number 
of  regular  districts  were  formed. 

In  the  spring  of  1808,  he  was  elected  by  the  Western  Conference  to  at- 
tend the  General  Conference,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Here  he  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  committee  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  organization  and 
government  of  a  delegated  General  Conference.  But  before  the  committee 
had  fully  matured  that  important  system  and  prepared  it  to  lay  before  the 
body,  he  was  elected  by  the  General  Conference  to  the  office  of  general  su- 
perintendent, or  bishop,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  or- 
dained on  May  18, 1808,  by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  Bishop  Asbury, 
27 


418  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

assisted  by  the  following  elders — viz.,  Jesse  Lee,  Freeborn  Garrettson, 
Thomas  Ware,  and  Philip  Bruce.  I  cannot  follow  Bishop  McKendree  in  his 
almost  unparalleled  travels  from  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  episcopal 
office  till  death  removed  him  from  the  militant  Church,  even  with  that  de- 
gree of  minuteness  which  would  be  necessary  to  give  a  tolerable  view  of  the 
extent  and  usefulness  of  the  exercise  of  his  manisterial  functions.  How- 
ever desirable  such  a  narrative  might  be,  in  a  discourse  occasioned  by  the 
removal  of  such  a  man  as  Bishop  McKendree,  it  would  require  a  volume  to 
accomplish  it.  We  must  therefore  satisfy  ourselves  for  the  present  with  a 
few  brief  sketches  of  this  very  important  epoch  of  his  history  in  hope  that 
an  enlarged  biography  of  his  long,  laborious,  and  useful  life  will  at  no  very 
distant  period  be  given  to  the  Church  in  which  he  has  exercised  the  over- 
sight for  so  many  years.  His  field  of  labor  was  now  changed  from  a  dis- 
trict in  the  Western  Valley  to  the  United  States  and  Territories  and  the 
provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  and  instead  of  presiding  in  quar- 
terly meetings,  chiefly  in  thinly  settled  circuits,  he  was  now  called  to  the 
joint  superintendence  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  the  whole 
Church,  embracing  the  preachers  and  members  of  seven  Annual  Confer- 
ences. In  the  prosecution  of  this  arduous  work,  for  many  years,  he  traveled 
annually  from  four  to  six  thousand  miles,  and  a  great  part  of  the  time 
preached  nearly  every  day.  Nor  would  he  yield  to  the  use  of  a  carriage, 
but  performed  his  extensive  journeys  on  horseback  till  the  infirmities  of 
age  and  the  greatness  and  variety  of  his  labors  had  enfeebled  his  constitu- 
tion and  greatly  impaired  his  health.  While  he  retained  his  physical 
strength  and  action,  he  was  always  ready  to  advance  in  the  face  of  difficul- 
ties and  dangers.  Diligence  and  perseverance  were  stamped  upon  his  whole 
character,  and  if  he  failed  to  meet  an  appointment  (which  was  very  seldom 
the  case),  it  was  apprehended  that  some  extraordinary  dispensation  of 
Providence  had  delayed  him.  He  left  the  city  of  Baltimore  about  June  1, 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  General  Conference  at  which  he  was  consti- 
tuted bishop,  and  traveled  through  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  the 
Territories  west  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  penetrated  the  "western  wilds" 
one  hundred  miles  up  the  Missouri.  Here  he  attended  a  camp  meeting  in 
the  true  "backwoods"  style,  with  that  excellent  man  of  God,  the  Rev. 
Jesse  Walker.  His  house  at  this  meeting  was  the  preachers'  saddle  blankets 
sewed  together  and  spread  over  a  pole,  supported  by  forks  placed  in  the 
ground,  after  the  manner  of  soldiers'  tents.  One  end  of  this  house  was 
made  of  green  brush,  the  other  was  left  open,  and  in  front  of  it  the  fire  was 
made.  His  food  was  bread  and  flesh  broiled  on  sticks  by  the  fire.  He  re- 
turned through  the  Territories  to  meet  Bishop  Asbury  and  the  Western 
Conference,  on  October  1,  at  Liberty  Hill,  in  Tennessee.  Thus  in  four 
months  he  accomplished  a  tour  of  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  on  horseback 
a  considerable  part  of  it  without  roads,  bridges,  or  boats,  frequently  swim- 
ming creeks  and  rivers  and  sleeping  many  nights  in  the  woods  with  heaven 
for  his  covering  and  earth  for  his  bed.  This  first  extensive  frontier  visit 
of  a  Methodist  bishop  was  attended  with  happy  results.  Many  people  had 
conceived  of  the  superintendents,  or  bishops,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


Appendix.  419 

Church  as  being  men  clothed  with  power  dangerous  to  society.  They  had 
considered  them  as  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  inaccessible  to  the  common 
classes  of  people,  surrounded  with  pomp  and  wealth,  and  ruling  with  al- 
most absolute  authority.  And  there  were  not  wanting  Protestant  teachers 
of  religion  who  were  forward  in  producing  and  cherishing  such  sentiments 
in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Bishop  McKendree's  appearance  and  manners 
were  well  calculated  to  correct  such  views  and  remove  the  prejudices  of 
those  who  had  formed  their  opinions  under  the  influence  of  misrepresenta- 
tion. Thousands  flocked  to  see  and  hear  the  "  Methodist  bishop. "  But 
how  were  they  disappointed!  Instead  of  costly  and  fashionable  costume, 
his  dress  was  of  the  plainest  mode  and  of  common  materials.  Instead  of 
austerity  of  manners  and  the  signs  of  ecclesiastical  power,  they  found  him 
affable,  familiar,  and  persuasive,  gentle  to  all  men,  ready  to  participate 
with  ease  and  sweetness  of  temper  in  the  circumstances  of  the  poor  and 
afflicted,  and  ever  intent  upon  diffusing  happiness  in  every  circle  of  society 
in  which  he  moved. 

In  this  Western  tour  he  met  a  number  of  quarterly  and  camp  meetings 
and  preached  in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  with  power  to  listen- 
ing thousands,  and  the  blessed  fruits  of  those  labors  remain  to  this  day. 

His  administration  in  the  first  Conference,  at  which  he  presided  con- 
jointly with  Bishop  Asbury,  which  has  been  named  before,  was  every  way 
satisfactory  to  the  preachers  and  people. 

Here  he  commenced  his  regular  annual  visits  to  the  Conferences,  travel- 
ing sometimes  with  his  venerable  colleague,  Bishop  Asbury,  and  sometimes 
alone,  as  was  found  most  convenient  in  view  of  visiting  the  Churches  and 
preaching  to  the  congregations  in  the  most  profitable  manner  in  the  inter- 
vals of  the  Conferences. 

His  manner  of  conducting  the  business  of  the  Conferences  was  almost 
universally  approved,  and  his  administration  of  the  government  was  uni- 
formly sustained  by  the  General  Conference.  In  this  laborious,  extensive, 
and  difficult  oversight,  he  continued,  traveling  about  six  thousand  miles  a 
year,  till  1816,  during  which  time  the  work  had  been  greatly  enlarged  and 
several  new  Conferences  were  organized.  From  1812  till  1816,  Bishop 
McKendree's  labors  were  considerably  increased  in  consequence  of  Bishop 
Asbury's  inability,  through  age  and  severe  affliction,  to  sustain  the  charge 
as  he  had  before  done.  In  the  fall  of  1815,  these  two  venerable  and  labo- 
rious men  met  for  the  last  time  at  the  Tennessee  Conference.  Bishop  As- 
bury preached,  although  unable  to  stand  on  his  feet,  and  ordained  with 
feeble  and  trembling  hands  a  few  preachers.  Here  they  separated,  taking 
different  routes,  intending  to  meet  at  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  in 
Charleston.  But  Bishop  Asbury  failed  to  reach  the  place,  and  they  met 
no  more.  In  March,  1816,  Bishop  Asbury  was  removed  from  his  labors  and 
sufferings  to  his  eternal  rest,  and  Bishop  McKendree  was  left  alone  in  the 
general  superintendency  of  the  Church.  For  some  time  previous  to  the 
sitting  of  the  General  Conference  in  May  of  this  year,  Bishop  McKendree 
was  severely  afflicted.  He  was  confined  to  his  bed  on  his  way  from  the 
Baltimore  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference  and  was  not  able  to  attend  the 


420  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

latter.  He  was  brought  to  the  dwelling  of  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Wilkins,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Baltimore,  where  he  remained  till  the  sitting  of  the  General 
Conference.  Here  it  was  very  evident  that  his  arduous  labors,  extensive 
travels,  and  the  infirmities  of  age  had  greatly  impaired  his  constitution  and 
enfeebled  his  physical  energies.  It  was  obvious  to  all  that  it  was  indis- 
pensably necessary  to  afford  him  aid  in  his  superintending  oversight.  For 
this  purpose  two  aged  and  experienced  brethren  were  elected  and  ordained 
as  his  joint  colleagues  in  this  vast  field  of  labor;  but  notwithstanding  his 
feeble  state  of  health  and  the  appointment  of  two  additional  superintend- 
ents at  this  General  Conference,  he  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
his  office  with  untiring  perseverance,  and  his  travels  and  labors  were  rather 
increased  than  diminished. 

In  the  winter  of  1817-18,  he  attended  the  South  Carolina  Conference 
in  Georgia  and  went  on  to  the  Virginia  Conference  at  Norfolk.  At  the 
close  of  this  Conference  he  set  out  on  an  extensive  Western  tour  and  trav- 
eled by  the  way  of  Lynchburg,  through  the  western  parts  of  Virginia,  and 
East  and  West  Tennessee.  After  resting  a  few  days  at  his  brother's,  in 
Sumner  County,  he  continued  his  journey  through  the  southern  parts  of 
Kentucky,  crossed  the  Ohio  River,  and  visited  the  lower  parts  of  the  State 
of  Illinois;  crossed  the  Mississippi  at  Cape  Girardeau,  and  visited  the 
frontier  settlements  about  the  old  lead  mines,  and  from  thence  to  the  Mis- 
souri River;  and,  crossing  it,  attended  a  camp  meeting  on  the  north  side. 
After  attending  this  meeting,  he  returned  through  Illinois,  Indiana,  and 
Kentucky,  visiting  the  Churches  by  the  way  of  St.  Louis,  Vincennes, 
Louisville,  Shelbyville,  and  Maysville;  and  attended  the  Ohio  Conference 
at  Steubenville  in  the  fall  of  1818.  His  affliction  was  such  at  this  Confer- 
ence as  to  excite  the  deep  sympathy  of  his  friends,  who  advised  and  even 
entreated  him  to  relinquish  his  design  of  visiting  the  South  Carolina  Con- 
ference the  ensuing  winter  by  way  of  Mississippi  and  through  the  exten- 
sive nations  of  Indians;  but  his  work  was  before  him  and  his  trust  was  in 
God.  He  commenced  the  intended  journey  in  circumstances  which  would 
have  deterred  most  men  from  the  attempt.  He  could  neither  mount 
nor  dismount  his  horse  without  help,  and,  when  mounted,  one  misstep  or 
irregular  motion  of  the  horse  produced  exquisite  pain.  But  feeble  as  he  was, 
he  pursued  his  course  through  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  and  attended 
the  Conference  on  the  White  River,  and  from  thence  to  the  Tennessee  Con- 
ference in  Nashville.  Here  he  took  two  young  men  for  the  work  in  Missis- 
sippi, prepared  a  pack  horse  to  carry  their  provisions  through  the  Indian 
Nations,  and  set  out  for  the  Mississippi  Conference,  which  was  to  meet  in  the 
Pearl  River.  Long  rides,  irregular  living,  and  great  exposure  added  to  the 
care  of  the  Churches,  proved  to  be  too  great  for  his  declining  strength,  and 
three  days  before  he  reached  the  seat  of  Conference,  he  sunk  under  the 
fatigue  and  was  very  near  falling  from  his  horse.  The  balance  of  his  jour- 
ney was  pursued  in  great  weakness.  He  commenced  the  business  of  the 
Conference,  but  was  unable  to  proceed.  A  brother  was  called  to  the  chair, 
and  a  bed  was  placed  in  the  room  on  which  the  Bishop  lay  and  afforded 
such  council  and  aid  as  his  feeble  state  would  admit.  On  the  Sabbath  the 


Appendix  421 

congregation  met  on  the  camp  ground.  The  Bishop  was  taken  in  a  carriage 
and  laid  on  a  bed  near  the  stand  during  the  sermon.  At  the  close  of  the 
preaching,  he  was  taken  from  the  bed,  and,  being  supported  by  two  preach- 
ers, performed  the  ordination  service  in  the  presence  of  a  large,  attentive, 
and  deeply  affected  congregation.  This  work  being  accomplished,  he  was 
put  into  the  carriage  and  conveyed  to  his  lodgings,  where  he  remained, 
with  the  kindest  treatment  and  in  the  hands  of  a  skillful  physician, 
through  a  long  and  painful  affliction.  His  recovery  from  this  illness  was 
very  slow,  so  that  it  was  judged  unsafe  for  him  to  attempt  to  travel,  except 
on  a  visit  to  the  mission  at  New  Orleans  on  a  steamboat,  till  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April,  1819.  At  this  time  his  physicians  and  friends,  considering  it 
not  safe  for  him  to  remain  in  the  low  country  during  the  warm  season,  ad- 
vised his  return  to  a  more  northern  latitude  to  spend  the  summer.  Accord- 
ingly he  set  out,  accompanied  by  two  preachers,  although  in  a  very  weak 
and  delicate  state  of  health.  His  feebleness  of  body  prevented  him  from 
reaching  the  public  stands  on  the  road,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  un- 
der the  necessity  of  lying  in  the  woods  eight  or  ten  nights  in  passing  through 
the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  Nations  on  his  way  to  West  Tennessee.  Aft- 
er resting  a  few  weeks  at  his  brother's,  in  Sumner  County,  he  visited  the 
Harrodsburg  Springs,  in  Kentucky,  where  he  continued  a  considerable 
part  of  the  summer,  visiting  and  preaching  in  the  neighborhood  as  he  was 
able.  In  August  he  attended  the  Ohio  Conference  in  Cincinnati.  From 
this  Conference  he  moved  slowly,  as  his  feeble  health  would  permit,  through 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Virginia,  and  arrived  in  Georgetown  during  the 
session  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  in  that  place.  Here  he  was  received 
with  a  sincere  and  ardent  affection  and  with  lively  expressions  of  gratitude 
to  God  for  the  preservation  of  his  life.  On  the  first  day  of  May,  1820,  he 
opened  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  in  Baltimore,  but  was  seldom 
able  to  preside,  or  even  to  attend  the  sittings  of  the  Conference.  During 
this  eventful  session,  Bishop  McKendree  was  deeply  afflicted,  both  in 
body  and  mind.  With  the  interests  and  prosperity  of  the  Church  no  man 
was  ever  more  perfectly  identified.  Whatever  tended  to  disturb  her  peace 
or  weaken  the  bands  of  confidence  and  fellowship  within  her  pales  was 
with  him  a  matter  of  painful  sensibility.  He  was  always  watchful  of  those 
ancient  landmarks  set  up  by  the  wisdom  of  age  and  experience  and  tested 
by  extraordinary  proofs  of  divine  approbation  in  a  genuine,  extensive,  and 
continued  revival  of  evangelical  religion  over  this  continent.  He  con- 
templated with  admiration  the  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  doctrines,  govern- 
ment, and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  his  choice  to  the  proposed  ends.  He 
had  thoroughly  examined  the  grand  itinerant  system  and  was  fully  per- 
suaded of  its  agreement  with  the  primitive  order  of  the  Church.  He  had 
witnessed  its  mighty  and  efficient  operations  in  turning  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,  and  he  had  studied  men  and  things  too  well  not  to  perceive  that  a  gen- 
eral itinerant  superintendency  was  essential  to  the  efficiency,  and  even  to  the 
preservation,  of  this  system.  Under  all  these  considerations,  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree was  deeply  affected  with  any  measures  which,  in  his  judgment, 


422  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

had  a  tendency  to  weaken  the  energies  or  change  the  plan  of  the  govern- 
ment. Such  measures  he  apprehended  to  be  in  a  train  of  operation  at  the 
General  Conference  of  1820.  With  these  measures  he  was  afflicted,  but 
his  earnest  and  constant  prayer  was  that  God  would  so  direct  and  overrule 
the  deliberations  and  acts  of  that  body  as  to  promote  the  peace  and  har- 
mony of  the  Church  and  advance  the  general  interests  of  religion.  In  con- 
sideration of  Bishop  McKendree's  extreme  debility,  and  in  hope  that  his 
health  might  be  restored,  the  General  Conference  passed  a  resolution  re- 
leasing him  from  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  and  advising  him  to 
pursue  that  course  which  would  best  suit  his  personal  comfort  and  con- 
venience and  be  most  likely  to  improve  his  health,  and  at  the  same  time 
requesting  him  to  resume  the  functions  of  his  office  as  soon  as  his  strength 
would  permit. 

He  ever  afterwards  spoke  of  this  act  of  the  Conference  with  expressions  of 
affection  and  gratitude.  From  this  period  till  the  sitting  of  the  General 
Conference  in  1824,  he  passed  through  the  deep  waters  of  affliction.  Un- 
able through  bodily  infirmity  to  travel  and  meet  the  Conferences  and 
jointly  with  his  colleagues  superintend  the  important  business  of  the 
Church  while  efforts  were  making  at  different  points  to  produce  schism  in 
the  body,  and  his  character  assailed  with  a  severity  which  savored  but 
little  of  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  the  refined  and  exquisite  sensibility  of  his 
nature  was  wounded,  and  his  deep  solicitude  for  the  harmony  of  the  preach- 
ers and  people  was  frequently  expressed  in  fervent  prayers  and  many  tears. 

In  reviewing  the  scenes  of  these  four  years,  the  Bishop  speaks  with  deep 
humility  and  lively  gratitude.  He  says:  "The  last  four  years  I  have  been 
afflicted  in  body  and  in  mind.  In  some  measure  my  anxiety  and  zeal  for 
the  Church  appeared  to  have  been  the  effect  of  a  deficiency  in  faith  and 
trust  in  God.  In  these  deep  exercises  I  saw  more  clearly  the  depravity  of 
my  own  heart  and  have  cause  to  regret  that  I  failed  so  to  exercise  patience 
and  faith  as  to  grow  in  grace  as  heretofore,  but  the  Lord  mercifully  sus- 
tained and  graciously  saved  me  from  sinking  in  the  deep  waters.  I  remem- 
ber with  gratitude  being  rescued  from  sinking  under  the  trial  by  timely 
encouragement  and  support  from  brethren  in  the  ministry  and  in  the  mem- 
bership." At  the  Conference  of  1824,  the  Bishop's  health  was  considerably 
improved  and  the  conflicting  elements  of  disunion  and  schism  appeared  to 
be  subsiding.  The  prospect  of  a  better  state  of  things  produced  a  happy 
effect  in  his  mind.  When  the  Conference  closed,  he  set  out  on  a  tour 
through  the  Western  States,  preaching  every  Sabbath  and  sometimes  on 
the  week  days.  In  this  journey  he  traveled  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling 
in  Virginia  to  Columbus  in  Ohio,  to  the  Wyandotte  Mission  at  Upper  San- 
dusky,  returning  to  the  OhioConference  at  Zanesville;  from  thence  by  the 
way  of  Lancaster,  Chillicothe,  Maysville,  and  Frankfort,  to  Shelbyville, 
the  seat  of  the  Kentucky  Conference.  After  attending  the  Conference, 
he  continued  the  journey  to  Louisville,  crossed  the  Ohio  River,  and  pro- 
ceeded through  the  State  of  Indiana  to  Vincennes,  crossed  the  Wabash, 
and  traveled  through  Illinios  to  Padfields,  twenty-five  miles  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi; attended  the  Missouri  Conference  in  November,  and  proceeded 


Appendix  423 

through  the  south  part  of  Illinois;  recrossed  the  Ohio  River  into  Kentucky, 
and  visited  Hopkinsville  and  Russell ville,  and  passed  into  Tennessee; 
preached  at  Fountain  Head,  Gallatin,  Nashville,  and  Franklin,  and  at- 
tended the  Tennessee  Conference  December  1,  at  Columbia.  During  this 
long  and  laborious  journey,  Bishop  McKendree  was  a  great  part  of  the 
time  so  feeble  as  to  require  the  assistance  of  friends  to  get  in  and  out  of  his 
carriage.  The  roads  were  exceedingly  bad  and  sometimes  almost  im- 
passable. The  waters  were  high,  bridges  and  boats  gone,  and  for  the  last 
month  the  weather  estremely  cold  and  unpleasant.  Several  times  the 
horses  and  carriage  were  near  swimmimg,  and  once  in  crossing  a  deep  and 
dangerous  river  on  a  very  cold  day,  the  ferryboat  having  been  sunk  in  the 
stream,  the  water  swept  over  the  horses'  backs,  and  the  carriage  sunk  so 
deep  that  the  water  came  in  so  as  to  wet  the  Bishop  above  the  knees.  His 
clothes  were  soon  frozen,  and  in  this  condition  he  had  to  ride  three  or  four 
miles  to  reach  a  house. 

He  remained  with  his  friends  in  Tennessee  through  the  winter  of  1824-25, 
visiting  the  Churches  and  preaching  frequently.  He  spent  the  ensuing 
summer  in  the  West,  and  in  the  fall  crossed  the  Cumberland  Mountains 
and  attended  the  Holston  Conference  and  traveled  extensively  through 
Virginia.  In  the  spring  of  1826,  he  visited  the  Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
and  New  York  Conferences,  and  returned  to  the  South  in  the  fall;  spent 
the  winter  in  the  bounds  of  the  South  Carolina  and  Virginia  Conferences, 
and  returned  to  the  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences  in  the  spring 
of  1827.  After  the  close  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  he  returned  to 
Baltimore,  and  set  out  on  a  journey  to  the  West  in  May.  He  crossed  the 
Allegeheny  Mountains  by  the  way  of  Cumberland,  visiting  and  preaching 
in  the  principal  societies.  He  traveled  through  the  State  of  Ohio  by  way 
of  Zanesville,  Lancaster,  and  Columbus,  and  visited  the  third  time  the 
Wyandotte  Mission;  returning,  he  passed  through  Urbana  and  visited 
many  of  the  towns  in  the  south  part  of  the  State,  and  attended  the  Ken- 
tucky Conference  in  Versailles  in  Ocotber;  from  thence  he  went  to  Ten- 
nessee and  spent  the  winter  with  his  friends,  visiting  the  neighboring  so- 
cieties and  preaching  frequently  as  he  was  able.  In  March,  1828,  he  set 
out  in  company  with  two  of  the  delegates  from  the  Tennessee  Conference 
for  Pittsburgh,  the  seat  of  the  General  Conference,  and  arrived  a  few  days 
before  its  commencement.  Although  he  was  unable  to  preside,  his  pres- 
ence and  council  were  highly  appreciated  by  the  Conference,  especially 
in  regard  to  some  very  important  transactions.  At  this  Conference,  al- 
though trembling  on  his  staff  and  pressed  beneath  the  weight  of  more  than 
seventy  years  and  the  cares  inseparable  from  his  office,  his  mind  was  pe- 
culiarly peaceful  and  tranquil  and  his  spirit  was  greatly  comforted  in  pros- 
pect of  the  establishment  of  the  harmony  and  the  increasing  prospect  of 
the  Church. 

After  the  close  of  the  Conference,  he  went  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Mays- 
ville,  and  visited  Lexington  and  Frankfort,  and  attended  the  Kentucky 
Conference  at  Shelbyville.  From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Tennessee,  and 
prepared  to  go  to  the  South.  After  visiting  and  preaching  in  a  number  of 


424  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

towns  and  attending  six  or  seven  camp  and  quarterly  meetings,  he  set  out 
for  Georgia,  through  the  Cherokee  Nation.  This  was  a  difficult,  laborious, 
and  dangerous  route.  He  passed  the  Lookout  Mountain  in  the  Nation 
under  circumstances  of  trial  and  peril.  He  preached  a  number  of  times  to 
the  Indians,  attended  the  grand  council  of  the  chiefs,  and  proceeded  by  way 
of  Athens,  Lexington,  and  Greensboro,  to  Milledgeville;  thence  to  Sparta 
and  Petersburg,  and,  crossing  the  Savannah  River  at  Rembert's,  visited 
several  districts  in  South  Carolina,  and  recrossed  the  Savannah  to  Augusta; 
preached  a  number  of  times  both  to  the  whites  and  the  colored,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Savannah.  From  this  city  he  passed  into  South  Carolina,  visited 
several  plantations,  instructed  the  slaves,  and  attended  the  Conference 
in  Charleston.  He  continued  his  route  through  South  Carolina,  North 
Carolina,  and  Virginia,  attended  the  Conference  at  Lynchburg,  and,  after 
spending  some  time  in  visiting  the  Churches  in  the  lower  parts  of  Virginia 
attended  the  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  Conferences,  and  returned  by 
the  District  of  Columbia;  again  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains  and  at- 
tended the  Ohio  Conference  at  Urbana  and  the  Kentucky  at  Lexington, 
and  spent  the  winter  in  Nashville  and  its  vicinity. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1830,  he  was  unable  to  travel  very 
extensively,  but  visited  the  Churches  and  attended  popular  meetings  as 
his  strength  would  admit.  In  October  he  attended  the  Kentucky  Con- 
ference, and,  notwithstanding  his  age  and  infirmities,  he  had  it  in  contem- 
plation to  visit  South  Carolina  and  meet  all  the  Atlantic  and  Northern 
Conferences  as  far  as  the  Genesee  before  the  sitting  of  the  General  Con- 
ference in  Philadelphia  in  the  spring  of  1832.  In  the  judgment  of  those 
friends  who  were  best  acquainted  with  his  delicate  state  of  health,  this  proj- 
ect appeared  to  be  rather  the  result  of  unabated  zeal  in  the  great  and  blessed 
work  in  which  he  was  engaged  than  any  deliberate  calculation  with  re- 
gard to  his  physical  powers  to  accomplish  it.  His  whole  soul  was  absorbed 
in  the  enterprise,  and,  in  view  of  it,  he  seemed  to  have  lost  sight  of  himself. 

He  was  advised,  as  he  would  have  effective  aid,  to  visit  the  Holston  Con- 
ference, as  an  experiment  of  his  ability  to  accomplish  his  contemplated 
tour.  To  this  he  yielded  with  readiness  and  apparent  pleasure.  The  dis- 
tance was  between  three  and  four  hundred  miles,  over  the  Cumberland 
Mountains,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  way  a  very  rough  road.  However, 
the  journey  was  commenced,  but  before  he  arrived  at  Knoxville  it  became 
very  obvious  that  he  was  sinking,  and  many  fears  were  entertained  for  the 
result.  But  the  journey  was  continued  under  such  weakness  and  general 
prostration  as  required  that  he  should  be  lifted  into  and  out  of  his  carriage, 
and  this  frequently  eight  or  ten  times  in  the  course  of  the  day.  But  all  was 
patient  suffering;  not  a  murmur,  not  a  complaint  escaped  his  lips.  And  al- 
though his  traveling  companion  in  removing  him  from  his  carriage  and  re- 
placing him  in  it  could  not  refrain  from  shedding  tears  of  affection  and  sym- 
pathy over  this  aged,  venerable,  and  persevering  minister  of  Jesus  Christ, 
those  tears  would  be  met  with  a  smile  of  heavenly  resignation  and  with 
expressions  of  gratitude  for  the  attention  paid  him  in  his  afflictions.  He 
reached  the  seat  of  the  Conference  a  day  or  two  after  the  commencement 


Appendix  425 

of  the  session,  but  unable  to  attend  to  any  business,  and  only  visited  the 
Conference  room  once  and  then  remained  but  a  few  moments  to  give  the 
preachers  a  kind  of  apostolic  valedictory.  He  was  confined  to  his  bed  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  during  the  session  and  at  its  close  was  able  to  sit 
up  but  little.  Under  these  circumstances,  he  consulted  some  of  his  old  and 
well-tried  friends  in  regard  to  his  future  course.  He  was  assured  that  in 
their  judgment  it  was  impracticable  for  him  to  prosecute  his  contemplated 
continental  tour,  and  consequently  they  advised  him  to  return  by  slow  and 
easy  stages  as  his  feeble  state  would  admit  and  spend  the  ensuing  winter 
in  Nashville  and  its  vicinity  without  further  exposure.  His  reply  was 
prompt  and  emphatical:  "I  approve  your  judgment  and  submit."  But  it 
was  obvious  that,  although  his  mind  was  fully  convinced  of  the  fitness  of 
this  course,  his  heart  was  in  the  great  work  which  he  viewed  with  so  much 
interest,  and  which  he  ardently  desired  to  accomplish  before  his  departure. 
It  was  observed  that  when  he  relinquished  this  enterprise  the  tears  flowed 
freely  from  his  eyes.  But  to  recross  the  range  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains, a  distance  of  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  through  a 
mountainous  country,  on  rocky  and  dangerous  roads,  and  the  season  far 
advanced,  was  both  a  difficult  and  hazardous  undertaking  in  his  delicate 
and  almost  helpless  condition.  But  the  most  formidable  difficulties  must 
yield  to  circumstances  so  imperious.  The  journey  was  commenced  the 
next  day  after  the  Conference  closed  and  continued  with  patient  persever- 
ance till  he  was  safely  lodged  at  his  brother's,  in  Sumner  County.  This 
journey  was  a  mingled  scene  of  suffering,  patience,  and  comfort.  On  the 
way  he  traveled  through  heavy  falls  of  rain  and  sleet  and  snow,  and  al- 
though every  motion  of  the  carriage  over  rough  places,  rocks,  or  roots  gave 
him  severe  pain,  his  mind  was  tranquil  and  cheerful.  As  soon  as  the  roads 
became  comfortable  in  the  spring  of  1831,  he  left  his  winter  retreat  and 
traveled  slowly  through  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  attending  quarterly  and 
camp  meetings  and  visiting  the  societies  and  preaching  frequently.  In  the 
fall  he  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains  and  passed  the  winter  in  Balti- 
more and  its  vicinity.  In  May,  1832,  he  attended  the  General  Conference 
in  Philadelphia.  He  lodged  with  his  old  and  long-tried  friend,  Dr.  Sargent, 
where  unremitting,  cordial,  and  affectionate  attention  was  shown  him  by 
the  kind  and  amiable  family.  He  was  very  feeble,  frequently  unable  to 
reach  the  Conference  room,  and  when  he  did  was  seldom  able  to  remain 
but  a  short  time.  On  these  occasions  he  went  in  and  out  before  this  body 
of  ministers  like  an  ancient  patriarch,  silvered  over  with  age  and  leaning 
upon  his  staff,  leaving  a  kind  of  presentiment  in  the  mind  of  the  preachers 
that  this  would  be  his  last  visit  on  such  an  occasion.  His  discourse  on  the 
death  of  Bishop  George  and  the  ordination  of  two  brethren  elected  by  the 
General  Conference  to  succeed  him  in  that  sacred  office  will  never  be  for- 
gotten while  those  who  heard  it  live. 

At  the  close  of  the  Conference  he  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  friends, 
and  especially  the  preachers,  as  though  he  expected  to  see  them  no  more 
till  he  met  them  in  the  heavenly  city.  He  returned  to  Baltimore,  and  after 
resting  a  few  weeks  and  enjoying  the  society  and  conversation  of  many  to 


426  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

whom  he  had  been  long  united  in  the  bonds  of  Christian  love  and  friend- 
ship, he  set  out  for  the  West  and  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  which 
he  had  so  often  crossed  in  weariness  and  affliction  before,  for  the  last  time. 
He  passed  through  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  the  north  of  Virginia, 
the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  to  Tennessee.  In  the  latter  part  of  this 
journey  it  became  necessary  to  fix  a  bed  in  his  carriage  on  which  he  might 
lie  down,  being  too  feeble  to  support  himself  on  the  seat.  The  following 
year  he  spent  chiefly  in  West  Tennessee,  visiting  various  parts  of  the  work, 
attending  popular  meetings,  and  preaching  in  the  power  and  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Spirit.  In  January,  1834,  he  visited  Natchez,  New  Orleans,  and 
Woodville,  passing  down  the  Cumberland,  Ohio,  and  Mississippi  Rivers 
by  steamboat.  He  preached  on  board  the  boat,  and  in  the  several  places 
he  visited  with  an  energy  and  effect  truly  astonishing.  In  the  spring  of 
1834  he  returned  to  Nashville,  visited  and  preached  in  different  places 
through  the  summer,  and  in  fall  attended  the  Tennessee  Conference.  He 
preached  for  the  last  time  in  the  new  church  in  Nashville,  on  Sabbath, 
November  23,  1834.  Here  ended  the  pulpit  labors  of  this  venerable  minis- 
ter of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  traveled  and  preached  for  almost 
half  a  century.  Here  that  penetrating,  yet  pleasant  voice,  which  had  been 
heard  with  delight  by  listening  thousands  in  almost  all  the  populous  cities 
in  these  United  States  and  which  had  sounded  forth  the  glad  tidings  of 
salvation  in  the  cabins  of  the  poor  on  the  remote  frontiers  or  to  numerous 
multitudes  gathered  together  in  the  forests  of  the  Western  Territories  and 
which  savage  tribes  had  heard  proclaiming  to  them  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ,  died  away  to  be  heard  no  more.  Here  he  finished  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  words  of  eternal  life  and  closed  his  public  testimony  for  the 
truth  of  the  revelation  of  God.  In  the  latter  part  of  December  he  removed 
from  Nashville  to  his  brother's,  which  was  his  last  travel.  From  this  time 
it  was  obvious  that  he  was  gradually  sinking  to  the  repose  of  the  tomb. 
But  he  had  one  more  conflict  before  the  warfare  was  accomplished.  From 
the  time  that  Bishop  McKendree  became  unable  to  perform  the  entire  ef- 
fective work  of  a  general  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
his  mind  was  frequently  deeply  exercised  with  the  apprehensions  that  he 
might  become  unprofitable  in  the  vineyard  of  his  Lord.  And  it  would 
seem  as  if  he  sometimes  thought  nothing  was  done  unless  he  could  compass 
the  whole  work,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do  in  the  days  of  his  strength 
and  vigor.  He  had  for  many  years  moved  with  the  foremost  in  activity 
and  perseverance,  and  the  idea  of  following  in  the  rear  and  being  left  behind 
was  painful  to  him  and  frequently  drew  tears  from  his  eyes.  And  this 
sentiment  often  led  him  to  exertions  and  labors  far  beyond  his  strength. 
This  fear  that  he  should  outlive  his  usefulness  in  the  Church  of  God  and 
become  unprofitable  to  his  fellow  creatures  was  the  last  afflicting  exercise 
of  mind  through  which  he  passed,  and  from  this  he  was  speedily  and  hap- 
pily delivered  by  the  prayer  of  faith.  He  sunk  patiently  and  sweetly  into 
all  his  Heavenly  Father's  will  and  waited  in  lively  hope  and  abiding  peace 
for  the  hour  of  its  departure.  The  inward  conflict  had  ceased;  his  confi- 
dence in  God  was  unshaken;  faith  strong  and  unwavering,  stretched 


Appendix.  427 

across  the  Jordan  of  death  and  surveyed  the  heavenly  country.  With  such 
sentiments  and  in  such  a  peaceful  and  happy  frame  of  mind,  the  dying 
McKendree  proclaimed  in  his  last  hours:  "All  is  well!"  In  this  emphatical 
sentence  he  comprehended  what  St.  Paul  expressed  in  view  of  his  departure 
from  the  world  and  exaltation  to  an  eternal  inheritance:  "For  I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight;  I  have  finished  my  course;  I  have  kept  the  faith. 
Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord, 
the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day."  The  last  connected  sen- 
tences which  ever  dropped  from  the  lips  of  this  aged  and  devoted  servant 
of  God,  who  for  almost  a  half  century  had  made  Jesus  Christ  the  same  yes- 
terday and  to-day  and  forever  the  end  of  his  conversation  were:  "All  is 
well  for  time  or  for  eternity;  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God;  for  me  to 
live  is  Christ,  to  die  is  gain. 

"Not  a  cloud  doth  arise  to  darken  my  skies, 
Or  hide  for  a  moment  my  Lord  from  mine  eyes." 

In  this  calm  and  triumphant  state  of  mind  he  continued  till  he  sweetly 
"slept  in  Jesus"  at  5  P.M.,  March  5, 1835,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his." 
After  the  notices  which  have  been  taken  of  our  beloved  and  lamented 
Bishop  in  the  foregoing  sketches  of  his  life,  it  might  seem  unnecessary  to 
add  anything  further;  but  I  cannot  feel  fully  satisfied  of  having  discharged 
my  obligation  in  this  solemn  and  interesting  subject  without  a  brief  and 
more  summary  view  of  his  character,  but  to  do  this  in  a  suitable  manner, 
to  say  neither  too  much  nor  too  little,  is  not  an  easy  task.  It  will  be  diffi- 
cult, nay,  it  will  be  be  impossible,  to  satisfy  all.  Some  will  think  too  much, 
others  too  little,  is  said;  but  without  undue  regard  to  either,  I  will  endeavor 
according  to  my  ability  to  speak  the  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth 
without  fear  or  flattery.  That  Bishop  McKendree  had  faults,  is  certain; 
it  is  equally  true  that  he  was  deeply  sensible  of  them.  Of  him  might  be 
said  with  the  strictest  propriety, 

He  felt  an  idle  thought,  an  actual  wickedness, 

And  mourned  for  the  minutest  fault  with  exquisite  distress. 

But  his  faults,  or  rather  his  infirmities,  were  always  on  virtue's  side  and 
scarcely  deserve  to  be  named  in  view  of  the  excellences  which  adorned  and 
dignified  his  moral,  Christian,  and  ministerial  character. 

If  clearness  of  conception,  richness  and  variety  of  sentiment,  judicious 
arrangement  and  association,  strength  of  argument,  zeal  as  the  effect  of 
convictiod  of  the  truth  and  importance  of  the  subject,  simplicity  and  purity 
of  language,  powerful  application,  and,  above  all,  the  unction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  constitute  a  great  and  good  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  Jeuss  Christ, 
Bishop  McKendree  has  a  just  title  to  that  character.  His  personal  ap- 
pearance in  the  pulpit  was  always  dignified  and  his  action  chaste  and  un- 
ostentatious. His  voice  was  clear,  harmonious,  and  pleasant,  possessing 
not  unfrequently  peculiar  strength  and  energy. 

His  preaching  was  always  heard  by  the  attentive  and  candid  with  pleas- 
ure and  profit,  and  frequently  with  applause  by  every  class  of  the  com- 


428  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

munity.  His  discourses  were  full  of  sentiment,  and  he  never  employed 
words  only  as  the  representatives  of  ideas.  It  was  very  obvious  to  the  at- 
tentive hearer  that  much  close  thinking  had  been  bestowed  on  his  subjects, 
but  he  used  no  elaborate  method  of  communication,  no  quaint  sentences 
or  phrases  beyond  the  comprehension  of  his  hearers  escaped  from  his  lips, 
but  his  style  was  chaste  and  frequently  nervous. 

Bishop  McKendree  very  justly  considered  the  Divine  Oracles  to  con- 
tain the  subject  matter  of  the  Christian  ministry,  and  to  be  the  best  directory 
with  respect  to  the  manner  of  teaching  as  well  as  the  matter  to  be  taught. 
Out  of  these  sacred  records  he  was  not  known  to  travel  in  his  public  min- 
istration of  the  word.  In  them  he  was  deep  read  and  always  at  home.  Few 
men  have  ever  entertained  clearer  or  more  just  views  of  the  leading  and 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Christian  revelation,  and  few  men  have  ever 
exhibited,  illustrated,  and  applied  them  with  greater  effect.  He  had  a 
talent  peculiar  to  himself  for  illustrating  the  doctrines  and  obligations  of 
religion  by  the  most  appropriate  figures  drawn  from  nature  or  art.  In 
these  illustrations  he  seldom  failed  to  produce  the  most  happy  effect.  He 
was  an  accurate  and  admiring  observer  of  nature,  and  he  drew  from  her 
.exhaustless  depositories  abundant  means  of  setting  forth  the  admirable 
analogy  and  perfection  of  the  gospel.  Nor  was  he  inattentive  to  the  differ- 
ent occupations  and  pursuits  of  men,  or  even  to  the  incidents  of  civilized 
or  savage  life,  so  far  as  he  could  use  them  for  the  purpose  of  giving  efficiency 
to  religious  instructions  either  to  the  believer  or  unbeliever.  As  a  striking 
example  of  this  happy  talent,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  short  but  com- 
prehensive sentence  by  which  he  expressed  his  complete  victory  over  the 
fear  of  death  and  his  confident  assurance  of  a  heavenly  inheritance  was 
first  taken  from  a  sentinel  at  a  post  where  danger  might  be  apprehended 
and  consequently  where  a  watch  was  needful.  From  this  station  the  sen- 
tinel was  heard  to  cry  at  measured  periods:  "All  is  well!"  I  need  not  say 
how  happily  and  how  appropriately  this  expression  of  security  and 
triumph  was  employed  by  this  veteran  soldier  of  the  cross  of  Jesus  who 
had  for  so  many  years  remained  a  faithful  sentinel  on  the  walls  of  Zion.  He 
did  not  preach  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  as  subjects  of  abstract  science  or 
theoretical  speculation,  but  brought  them  home  to  the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  the  hearers.  If  he  spoke  of  the  natural  depravity  of  the  human 
heart,  he  made  the  audience  feel  that  they  were  depraved;  if  he  reasoned 
of  righteousness  and  of  judgment  to  come,  his  hearers  trembled  while  their 
consciences  joined  in  with  the  revelation  of  God.  And  so  clear  and  power- 
ful were  his  appeals  on  the  subject  of  future  accountability  and  retribu- 
tion that  it  would  almost  seem  to  the  listening  assembly  that  the  judgment 
was  set  and  the  books  open.  The  divinity  of  Christ,  the  extent  and  fullness 
of  the  divine  atonement,  the  riches  and  plenitude  and  freeness  of  the  pre- 
cious prpvisions  of  the  gospel,  the  perfect  suitableness  of  the  system  of 
salvation  in  all  its  requirements  and  helps  and  promises  to  the  condition 
of  depraved,  sinful,  and  guilty  creatures,  the  blessed  effects  of  a  voluntary 
submission  to  the  proposed  terms,  to  be  saved  by  grace  through  faith,  and 
the  fearful  consequence  of  rejecting  Christ  and  his  salvation  were  subjects 


Appendix 

on  which  he  dwelt  with  a  clearness  of  conception,  strength  of  argument, 
and  power  of  conviction  of  which  there  are  not  many  examples  among  his 
contemporaries  in  the  Christian  ministry. 

Who  has  ever  heard  Bishop  McKendree  preach  a  sermon  in  which  ex- 
perimental and  practical  godliness  were  not  distinctly  presented  and 
strongly  enforced?  I  never  did,  although  I  have  heard  him  many  times. 
Conviction,  conversion,  sanctification,  or  perfect  love,  producing  a  sin- 
cere and  joyful  obedience  to  all  the  commands  of  God  were  interwoven 
with  all  his  public  as  well  as  his  private  ministrations;  but,  above  all,  there 
was  an  unction  from  the  Holy  One,  a  divine  energy,  attending  his  ministry. 
His  preaching  was  in  the  "demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power." 
Few  preachers  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  have  had  more  fruits  of  their 
labors.  Who  can  reckon  up  the  number  that  will  appear  in  the  morning  of 
the  resurrection,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  decked  with  crowns  of 
glory,  who  were  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  salvation  through  his  instru- 
mentality! 

But  while  we  remember  Bishop  McKendree  as  an  excellent  and  useful 
preacher  in  the  gospel,  we  must  not  forget  him  as  a  wise  and  judicious 
ruler  in  the  Church  of  God.  For  twelve  years  he  filled  the  responsible 
office  of  a  presiding  elder,  and  for  nearly  twenty-seven  years  he  sustained 
the  office  of  a  general  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
During  this  long  period  of  official  services  many  cases  of  great  importance 
and  of  no  ordinary  difficulty  occurred  in  the  course  of  the  administration 
of  the  government;  but  he  traveled  through  these  cases  with  such  patience 
of  investigation  and  rectitude  of  design,  and  arrived  at  a  decision  with 
such  clearness  as  seldom  failed  to  give  universal  satisfaction.  And  it  is 
a  remarkable  fact  that  during  the  whole  period  of  his  official  oversight  he 
never  was  accused  before  any  tribunal  having  jurisdiction  in  the  case  of 
having  departed  from  the  principles  of  the  constitution  or  the  rules  of  the 
Church,  or  of  having  used  the  authority  which  had  been  committed  to 
him  for  the  administration  of  the  government  for  any  other  purpose  or  to 
any  other  end  than  what  was  originally  designed.  It  is  true,  this  venerable 
man  was  charged  by  individuals  and  in  inflammatory  publications  with 
the  "love  of  power"  and  with  the  "abuse  of  the  episcopal  prerogative," 
but  never  were  charges  more  groundless,  never  were  charges  more  feebly  sus- 
tained. No  man  whom  I  have  ever  known  possessed  a  more  just  appre- 
hension of  the  nature,  extent,  and  uses  of  the  authority  with  which  he  was 
invested  than  Bishop  McKendree,  and  no  man  ever  exercised  that  author- 
ity with  more  perfect  subjection  to  constitutional  guards  and  with  a  more 
sincere  and  conscientious  design  to  employ  it,  not  for  personal  emolument, 
but  for  the  specific  purposes  for  which  it  was  given.  Men  in  every  age  of 
tjie  world  who  have  been  restless  under  the  legitimate  administration  of 
laws  and  indisposed  to  be  "subject  to  the  powers  that  be"  have  been  ac- 
customed to  exclaim  against  the  love  and  the  abuse  of  power;  and  in  cases 
where  they  have  succeeded  in  transferring  authority  from  other  hands  to 
their  own,  history  will  give  information  of  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
used  it. 


430  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Bishop  McKendree's  course  in  the  administration  was  governed  by  an 
enlightened  and  extensive  view  of  the  whole  system.  He  distinctly  appre- 
hended the  relation  which  the  several  departments  of  the  government  sus- 
tained to  each  other  and  the  constitutional  powers  which  belonged  to  each; 
and  it  was  his  constant  aim  to  preserve  those  powers  in  such  a  balance  and 
subject  to  such  checks  and  restrictions  as  would  secure  the  right  of  all,  es- 
tablish the  union  and  peace  of  the  Church,  and  preserve  the  uniform  and 
judicious  administration  of  wholesome  discipline.  It  is  certain  that  this 
great  man  possessed  a  strong  and  ardent  attachment  to  the  system  of 
Methodism.  But  this  attachment  was  the  result  of  conviction,  consequent 
upon  the  thorough  examination  of  the  principles  and  designs  which  the 
system  embraces,  and  the  suitableness  of  the  principles  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  ends.  He  was  firmly  persuaded  that  a  general  itinerant  super- 
intendency,  as  secured  by  the  constitution  of  the  Church,  with  sufficient 
powers  to  administer  the  government  and  responsible  to  the  General  Con-i 
ference  for  the  use  of  these  powers,  was  of  vital  importance  to  the  preser- 
vation of  the  itinerant  system,  to  a  uniform  administration  of  the  Disci- 
pline, and  to  the  internal  union  and  harmony  of  the  body.  With  such  views 
he  uniformly  deplored  the  existence  of  measures  which  had  a  tendency 
either  to  deprive  the  superintendency  of  those  prerogatives  which  were 
essential  to  its  very  existence  or  so  to  restrict  its  power  as  to  render  it  in- 
efficient and  consequently  to  bring  it  into  contempt. 

Bishop  McKendree  was  never  satisfied  with  a  superficial  view  of  any 
important  proposition.  He  was  accustomed  to  trace  principles,  either  in 
doctrine  or  government,  in  their  practical  operation  and  either  to  sustain 
or  disprove  them  by  pointing  out  with  a  clearness  peculiar  to  himself  the 
certain  results.  In  this  way  he  aimed  to  give  a  permanency  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  government  and  to  the  executive  administration. 

Upon  the  most  careful  examination,  after  an  intimate  acquaintance  for 
many  years,  I  know  of  no  essential  qualification  of  an  ecclesiastical  ruler 
which  our  dear  departed  Bishop  did  not  possess  in  an  eminent  degree.  He 
was  well  acquainted  with  men.  He  had  read  human  nature  in  all  its  diver- 
sified character.  He  well  understood  the  principles  and  ends  of  Church 
government.  He  was  calm  and  deliberate  in  all  his  official  acts.  His  mind 
was  too  pure  and  elevated  to  admit  of  partiality  in  the  exercise  of  the 
functions  of  his  office.  While  his  heart  was  susceptible  of  the  tenderest 
friendships  and  alive  to  the  purest  and  most  exquisite  sympathies  of  which 
human  nature  is  capable,  he  was  firm  and  unyielding  in  his  adherence  to 
those  principles  which  he  had  established  for  the  government  of  his  ad- 
ministration. In  fixing  the  stations  of  the  preachers  at  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences, it  was  his  uniform  practice  to  obtain  all  the  information  in  his 
power  from  the  various  sources  to  which  he  had  access  relative  to  the  state 
of  the  whole  field  of  labor  and  the  qualifications  and  circumstances  of  the 
preachers  who  were  to  cultivate  it.  This  information  being  obtained,  he 
was  always  disposed  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  views  and  councils  of  those  whose 
experience  and  office  qualified  them  to  be  useful  helpers  in  this  highly  re- 
sponsible work,  and,  conscious  of  the  imperfection  of  all  human  knowledge 


Appendix  431 

and  of  the  insufficiency  of  human  agency  and  of  his  liability  to  err,  the 
whole  was  submitted  in  humble  prayer  for  divine  direction,  for  the  for- 
giveness of  faults,  and  for  success  to  attend  the  well-meant  endeavors  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  In  the  performance 
of  this  important  branch  of  his  official  oversight,  Bishop  McKendree  deep- 
ly sympathized  with  the  preachers  of  his  charge  and  their  families  in 
their  labors,  privations,  and  sufferings.  With  him  it  was  a  sacred  princi- 
ple to  yield  to  individual  accommodation  in  consideration  of  age,  afflic- 
tions, or  family  circumstances  as  far  as  it  could  be  done  consistently 
with  the  good  of  the  whole.  But  if,  after  the  most  careful  and  impar- 
tial examination,  such  individual  convenience  appeared  to  him  to  be  de- 
trimental to  the  general  interest,  there  was  neither  hesitating  nor  com- 
promise with  regard  to  his  course.  Individual  accommodation  must  al- 
ways submit  to  the  public  good.  But  he  never  bound  heavy  burdens  and 
laid  them  on  men's  shoulders  which  he  himself  was  unwilling  to  bear.  Who 
has  known  any  man  more  ready  and  willing  to  endure  all  the  labors  and 
sacrifices  and  sufferings  of  a  Methodist  preacher?  By  such  a  course,  Bish- 
op McKendree  established  and  retained  the  affectionate  and  respectful 
confidence  of  the  preachers  and  people  over  whom  he  presided  and  whose 
interests  he  had  deeply  at  heart.  And  in  his  prudent,  mild,  and  firm  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  he  has  left  a  worthy  and  illustrious  ex- 
ample for  the  imitation  of  those  who  may  succeed  him. 

In  his  Christian  character,  our  beloved  Bishop  was  eminently  a  "pattern 
of  good  works."  He  had  a  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  his  dependence  upon 
the  grace  of  God,  through  Christ,  both  for  wisdom  and  ability  to  perform 
his  duties  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  approved  of  God  and  profitable  to  men. 
Under  the  influence  of  this  conviction,  and  fully  apprised  of  his  liability  to 
err,  he  was  clothed  with  humility  and  prayed  without  ceasing.  He  was  a 
man  of  daily,  habitual,  and  fervent  prayer.  He  "lived  by  faith,"  and 
"walked  closely  with  God." 

He  was  a  zealous  and  uniform  friend  of  those  institutions,  both  literary 
and  religious,  which  were  established  and  patronized  by  the  Church  and 
which  had  for  their  objects  the  improvement  of  society,  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  salvation  of  souls.  These  institutions  he  supported  by  his  person- 
al visits,  by  his  prudent  and  encouraging  advice,  by  suitable  representa- 
tions of  their  characters  and  claims,  and  by  liberal  contributions  of  money 
to  the  full  extent  of  his  means.  He  took  a  very  deep  interest  particularly 
in  the  missionary  and  Sabbath  school  societies.  He  considered  those  as- 
sociations as  most  efficient  auxiliaries  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in 
reforming  the  continent,  and  spreading  scriptual  holiness  over  these  lands. 
He  neglected  no  opportunity  of  visiting  the  Sunday  schools  and  meeting 
the  societies  and  encouraging  all  concerned  in  them  to  zealous  perseverance. 
He  had  thoroughly  examined  the  principles  of  the  General  Book  Concern, 
and  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  most  important  institutions  for  the  promo- 
tion of  Christian  knowledge  and  piety.  He  viewed  it  in  the  light  of  a  noble 
and  extensive  Christian  charity,  diffusing  the  blessings  of  moral  and  re- 
ligious truth  and  at  the  same  time  supplying  the  means  to  feed  the  hungry, 


432  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

clothe  the  naked,  and  relieve  the  wants  of  the  widow  and  fatherless.  As 
such,  it  had  his  cordial  support.  His  liberality  in  the  use  of  the  limited 
means  he  possessed  was  strikingly  expressive  of  that  principle  of  love  to 
God  and  his  neighbor  which  influenced  all  his  actions.  This  liberality  was 
divided,  with  a  strict  and  conscientious  regard  to  economy  and  utility,  be- 
tween benevolent  institutions,  houses  of  public  worship,  and  needy  individ- 
uals. Of  the  last,  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  preachers  who  had  la- 
bored and  suffered  and  died  in  the  itinerant  ministry  were  special  objects 
of  his  kind  attention. 

Bishop  McKendree  was  grave,  yet  generally  mild  and  cheerful  in  his 
conversation  and  manners.  Who  ever  heard  from  the  lips  of  this  devoted 
servant  of  Christ  vain,  trifling,  or  unprofitable  conversation?  Who  ever 
saw  him  unemployed,  or  employed  to  no  valuable  purpose?  In  this  re- 
spect, he  has  left  an  example  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  all  Christian  min- 
isters. In  a  word,  he  exercised  all  the  Christian  virtues  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree and  for  the  most  valuable  purposes.  With  him  patience  was  the  pow- 
er of  suffering,  faith  was  a  divine  conviction  of  things  not  seen,  a  living  and 
abiding  confidence  in  God,  through  Christ,  effecting  a  personal  interest  in 
all  the  great  and  precious  promises  and  producing,  as  its  fruit,  a  humble 
and  willing  and  joyful  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God.  The  hope  of 
the  gospel  was  the  anchor  of  his  soul,  the  love  of  God  was  shed  abroad  in 
his  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  that  love  which  "suffereth  long  and  is 
kind,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  easily 
provoked,  thinketh  no  evil,  beareth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth 
all  things,  and  which  never  faileth."  This  was  the  ground  of  his  zeal  for 
God  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men.  It  was  the  constraining 
principle  which  inspired  and  governed  his  actions  and  gave  life  and  vigor 
to  all  his  religious  duties. 

As  a  man,  as  well  as  a  Christian  and  Christian  minister,  our  venerable 
friend  had  a  refined  and  exalted  sense  of  propriety  and  consistency  of 
character. 

He  had  examined  the  relations  and  obligations  of  man  in  a  state  of  so- 
ciety with  great  carefulness  and  accuracy,  and  his  views  of  the  relative 
duties  were  clear  and  elevated;  and  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men 
he  was  strictly  governed  by  these  enlightened  views. 

He  rendered  honor  to  whom  honor  was  due,  was  gentle  to  all  men,  yet  he 
would  reprove  offenses  as  occasions  and  circumstances  required  without 
undue  respect  of  persons. 

In  conversation  he  was  chaste,  unassuming,  and  respectful,  always  in- 
teresting and  profitable  and  sometimes  peculiarly  animated. 

He  was  unembarrassed  in  the  presence  of  those  who  move  in  the  scien- 
tific and  elevated  walks  of  life;  and  his  condescension,  kindness,  and  affa- 
bility inspired  the  humble  poor  with  confidence  and  esteem.  To  the  serv- 
ant and  his  master  he  was,  on  all  suitable  occasions,  equally  accessible. 
He  was  exquisitely  sensible  of  any  departure  from  the  principles  of  purity 
and  propriety,  either  in  conversation  or  actions.  And  in  every  class  of 


Appendix  433 

society  in  which  he  moved,  he  aimed,  as  far  as  it  could  be  done,  to  please 
his  neighbor  for  his  good  to  edification. 

To  sum  up  all  in  a  few  words,  in  the  character  of  Bishop  McKendree, 
now  with  God  in  the  heavenly  place  beyond  the  breath  of  human  praise 
or  blame,  were  combined  the  essential  qualifications  of  a  great  and  good  and 
amiable  man;  a  sensible,  pious,  and  devoted  Christian;  a  prudent  and  con- 
scientious ruler  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  an  able,  zealous,  and  useful  min- 
ister of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Finally,  brethren,  let  us  remember  our  dear  departed  pastor  and  Bishop 
who  has  had  the  rule  over  us  and  who  now  rests  from  the  labors  and  suffer- 
ings of  his  militant  charge.  We  ask  not  for  him  any  pompous  titles  en- 
graved on  perishable  marble;  we  ask  not  for  him  the  external  badges  of 
mourning;  we  ask  not  that  our  pulpits  be  hung  with  drapery  of  sorrow,  or 
that  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary  of  our  God  should  be  clothed  with  the 
habiliments  of  woe;  we  ask  for  him  a  purer,  a  more  hallowed,  and  a  more 
durable  monument. 

O  let  the  picture  of  his  heavenly  virtues  be  deeply  engraved  on  our 
hearts!  0  let  him  long  live  in  the  memory  and  affection  and  esteem  of  the 
ministers  and  people  of  his  pastoral  care  and  official  oversight!  Though 
our  beloved  McKendree  be  dead,  he  speaks  to  us  from  the  mansion  of  the 
tomb.  He  speaks  to  us  in  the  silent  but  expressive  language  of  a  pure  and 
illustrious  example.  Hark,  my  brethren,  as  if  you  heard  from  the  sacred 
repository  which  now  contains  all  that  is  mortal  of  our  venerable  friend 
that  charming  voice  so  often  raised  to  plead  the  cause  of  truth  and  direct 
perishing  multitudes  to  the  "  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."  What  language  does  he  hold?  What  instructions  will  he  impart? 
Does  he  not  say,  "Brethren,  be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  also  have  been 
of  Christ;  be  men  of  one  vocation  and  one  work;  be  humble,  steadfast,  and 
zealous  in  your  holy  calling;  be  faithful  to  God  and  to  the  souls  of  the  peo- 
ple committed  to  your  charge;  be  men  of  prayer  and  diligence  and  punc- 
tuality"? 

But  while  we  regard  him  as  an  example  for  our  imitation,  let  us  remem- 
ber him  in  his  abundant  labors,  with  gratitude  to  the  Father  of  all  mercies 
for  so  great  a  blessing  bestowed  upon  us.  Let  us  remember  him  with 
humble  and  fervent  prayer,  that  God  would  raise  up  and  preserve  in  his 
Church  men  of  like  minds,  who  shall,  like  him,  count  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellence  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  their  Lord  and  glory 
only  in  the  Redeemer's  cross.  Let  us  imitate  him  in  that  zeal  and  fidelity 
with  which  he  exercised  the  peculiar  functions  of  his  holy  office.  And  while 
we  press  forward  in  our  Heavenly  Master's  work,  encouraged  by  the  light 
and  comfort  and  triumph  of  his  illustrious  example,  let  us  trust  in  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  waiting  in  earnest  expectation  and  lively 
hope  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  life  everlasting. 

God  grant,  my  dear  brethren,  that  like  our  venerable  McKendree,  in 
the  hour  that  closes  the  scenes  of  earth  and  dissolves  our  relation  to  our 
militant  charges,  we  may  be  able,  in  view  of  the  past  and  in  prospect  of 
the  future  to  proclaim : ' '  All  is  well ! ' '    Amen. 
28 


LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  ASBURY  TO  THE  REV. 
JOSEPH  BENSON 

THE  following  communication  from  Bishop  Asbury  to  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Benson,  of  England,  merits  special  attention. 
It  bears  date  a  short  time  before  his  death,  was  indited  by  him 
while  confined  to  his  bed,  and  was  written  and  certified  to  in 
the  copy  before  the  author  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Mason.  He 
and  Bishop  McKendree  had  parted  in  Tennessee  to  pur- 
sue different  routes  to  the  South  Carolina  Conference.  They 
met  no  more.  Bishop  McKendree,  as  already  related,  made 
the  trip  in  time  and  presided  at  the  Conference  in  Charleston; 
but  the  feeble  senior  broke  down,  after  a  desperate  and  ex- 
hausting struggle,  before  he  could  reach  the  city  and  was 
taken  dangerously  ill  when  not  far  from  it.  At  the  earliest 
period  of  his  partial  convalescence,  for  he  never  fully  recovered, 
and  while  propped  up  in  his  bed,  with  closed  eyes  and  death- 
like pallor,  he  slowly  indited  this  letter.  The  long  and  well- 
fought  battle  of  his  extraordinary  life  was  nearly  over,  but  he 
seemed  determined,  before  he  should  yield  to  the  rider  of  the 
pale  horse  to  do  two  things:  to  reach  Baltimore  in  time  to  attend 
the  General  Conference  May  1,  and  to  vindicate  himself  from 
the  suspicions  which  "Diotrephes"  had  instilled  into  the  mind 
of  the  aged  Wesley  against  him  and  his  colleagues,  but  which 
were  dissipated  by  his  humility  and  untiring  labors,  and  at 
the  same  time  commend  his  beloved  American  Methodism 
to  the  confidence  and  affection  of  their  brethern  in  his  father- 
land. The  first  he  failed  to  accomplish,  having  died  in  Virginia 
on  his  way  to  the  General  Conference,  March  24,  1816,  but  the 
latter  was  effected,  leaving  not  a  shade  upon  his  fame  in  the 
mind  of  anyone  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Indeed,  this 
had  long  since  been  done. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  hour  of  death  approaches  the  exile, 
his  native  land  and  early  associates  loom  up  to  his  imagina- 
tion, and  he  yearns  for  them,  so  of  our  self-expatriated  Asbury. 
He  had  left  his  country  and  his  brethren  to  plant  Methodism 
in  the  wild  Western  Hemisphere,  and  nobly  had  he  fulfilled  his 
mission;  and  though  often  looking  and  longing  for  a  little  leisure 
to  revisit  his  native  land,  yet  had  he  looked  and  longed  in 
vain.  Stern  duty  demanded  unceasing  labor;  and  now,  when 
hope  had  fled  of  reunion  on  earth,  his  heart  and  thoughts 


Appendix  435 

turn  thither,  and  he  sends  this,  his  last  affectionate  greeting, 
through  his  friend,  Mr.  Benson,  and  seeks  his  influence  in  be- 
half of  the  Church  which  his  own  death  is  soon  to  leave  in 
orphanage.  Tis  the  language  of  a  dying  father  commending 
the  younger  children  of  the  family  to  the  love  and  kindness 
of  their  elder  brethren.  Mr.  Benson  was  three  years  the  junior 
of  Mr.  Asbury  and  died  five  years  later.  Since  they  had  parted 
in  England,  both  of  them  had  become  eminent,  beloved,  and 
venerated  by  a  whole  community,  the  latter  as  bishop,  the 
former  as  a  preacher,  commentator,  President  of  the  Confer- 
ence, and  who  then,  as  Editor  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Maga- 
zine, was  at  the  head  of  the  Church  literature  of  the  British 
connection.  The  reader  will  see,  in  the  beginning  of  this  letter 
that  Mr.  Asbury's  memory  was  at  fault  as  to  their  comparative 
ages,  sad  evidence  of  old  age,  which  generally  first  shows  it- 
self as  to  the  recollection  of  dates  and  names. 

Repeated  allusions  occur  in  this  letter  to  a  person  under  the 
name  of  "Diotrephes,"  who,  it  is  evident,  Bishop  Asbury 
suspected  to  have  prejudiced  Mr.  Wesley  against  him.  The 
probability  is  that  he  meant  Thomas  Rankin.  He  was  sent 
by  Mr.  Wesley  to  America  in  1773  as  his  general  assistant, 
returned  to  England  in  1777  on  account  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  never  came  back.  He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  in  London,  seems  always  to  have  had  the  confidence  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  no  doubt  at  one  time  expected  to  occupy  the 
position  in  America  which  Mr.  Asbury  attained.  It  was,  per- 
haps, natural  he  should  feel  disappointed  at  the  result  and  be 
tempted  to  criticize  with  undue  severity  the  man  who,  with- 
out wishing  to  do  so,  had  superseded  him.  He  may  have  been 
honest  in  his  opinions  as  to  the  expediency  of  the  course  taken 
by  Mr.  Asbury  and  his  associates  in  the  premises,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  he  was  unconcious  of  the  blinding  influence  of  a 
disappointed  expectation.  Charity  would  trust  that  it  was  so; 
but  in  any  event,  he  subjected  his  motives  to  a  severe  and  just 
imputation  in  bringing  about  a  temporary  alienation  of  Mr. 
Wesley  from  the  pure  and  faithful  Bishop.  "Diotrephes"  loved 
"the  preeminence,"  and  "received  not"  St.  John.  It  is  feared 
that  Mr.  Asbury  found  his  "Diotrephes"  in  Mr.  Rankin. 

There  is  a  sentiment  in  this  letter  to  which  attention  is  invited 
and  against  which  we  enter  our  decided  protest;  it  is  that  no 
man  who  attains  the  age  of  seventy,  however  qualified  in  every 
other  respect,  should  continue  to  hold  a  highly  responsible 
office  in  the  Church  of  God.  We  are  sorry  to  see  the  name  of 


436  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Mr.  Asbury  attached  to  this  opinion,  as  we  were  to  hear  it  a 
few  years  since  from  the  lips  of  one  of  his  worthy  successors; 
in  both  cases  the  authorities  for  the  opinion  are  of  high  respect- 
ability, but  by  a  strange  coincidence  they  were  superannuated 
bishops.  Yet  it  matters  not  by  whom  uttered,  it  is  unsustained 
by  historical  facts.  If  its  application  is  made  exclusively  to 
Methodist  bishops  and  the  itinerant  labors  of  Mr.  Asbury's 
day,  we  have  nothing  to  say;  but  if  the  disqualification  as- 
sumed be  not  physical,  but  psychical,  we  dissent  most  emphat- 
ically; and,  moreover,  if  it  is  intended  to  embrace  only  high 
officials  in  the  Church  as  an  exceptional  and  proscribed  class, 
neither  the  propriety  nor  the  justness  of  the  rule  is  apparent. 
We  admit  that  a  man  of  seventy,  whether  a  bishop  or  not, 
cannot  ride  on  horseback  nor  in  a  thirty-dollar  chaise  as  Messrs. 
Asbury  and  McKendree  did  once,  and  thus  traverse  from 
five  to  eight  thousand  miles  a  year  as  well  as  can  a  man  of 
twenty;  but  surely  the  Church  should  not,  and  does  not  and 
never  did,  impose  such  tasks  upon  her  chief  pastors.  A  good 
deal  of  this  work  was  self-imposed,  imposed  from  anxiety  for 
the  welfare  of  the  cause  and  the  most  honorable  motives,  yet 
in  many  instances  not  really  necessary;  and  no  wonder  that 
such  habits  of  restlessness  and  perpetual  motion  wore  down  lym- 
phatic constitutions  at  seventy  years  of  age.  Indeed,  Bishop 
Asbury  here  confesses  that  at  sixty-three  he  had  become  unfit  to 
take  the  chair,  and  the  writer  distinctly  recollects  that  Bishop 
McKendree  told  him  that  Bishop  Asbury's  last  advice  to  him 
was  to  travel  on  wheels,  adding:  "If  I  had  done  so,  I  might 
have  added  ten  years  to  my  life."  It  is  always  unsafe  to  de- 
duce a  universal  proposition  from  a  special  case.  In  the  Church 
of  God  there  have  always  been  men  in  high  responsibility 
after  reaching  their  seventieth  year. 

We  freely  admit  with  the  decay  of  the  physical,  the  mental 
powers  must  sympathize  to  some  extent  and  in  certain  re- 
spects, but  we  assert  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  higher  faculties 
do  not  suffer  proportionally  to  the  bodily  senses.  The  fact  is, 
the  decadence  of  the  mind  at  that  period  of  life  is  ordinarily 
the  result  of  its  inaction  or  of  confining  its  action  to  a  few 
subjects.  Men  cease  to  explore  new  realms  of  thought,  they 
add  but  little  to  their  mental  treasure,  and  are  constantly 
losing  their  stock  on  hand  without  replenishing;  thus  the  mind 
becomes  torpid  and  effortless.  Their  friends  call  them  old, 
treat  them  as  such,  they  accept  the  epithet  and  its  privileges, 
and  settle  down  into  an  imbecility  which  they  think  inevitable; 


Appendix  437 

while,  in  fact,  the  green  old  age  of  seventy,  to  a  man  of  fair 
health,  good  constitution,  and  cultivated  mind  is  the  very 
season  for  assorting  and  harvesting  the  fruits  of  his  active 
summer's  toils.  Then  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  hot 
blood  of  youth  may  be  held  in  abeyance,  conscience,  reason, 
and  judgment  assert  their  superiority,  and  mind,  immortal  as  its 
Sire,  assumes  its  imperial  sway.  Suppose  the  great  men  who  have 
attained  a  world-wide  eminence  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  the 
jurists,  statesmen,  and  divines,  had  all  been  stricken  from  the 
roll  as  imbeciles — John,  the  divine  apostle,  Wesley,  Humboldt, 
Newton,  Marshall,  William  Pitt,  Dr.  Franklin,  Sir  Matthew 
Hale,  Lord  Brougham,  Madison,  Jefferson,  Adams,  and  the 
like — all  of  them  living  over  seventy  and  some  beyond  ninety 
years!  Why,  in  Europe  men  are  scarcely  thought  to  be  compe- 
tent to  occupy  the  highest  positions  as  savants  in  literature 
or  the  bench  of  the  jurist  before  that  period.  Because  Mr. 
Asbury  and  Bishop  McKendree  wore  and  tore  out  their  phys- 
ical frames  by  that  time,  are  we  to  assume  that  this  is  the  termi- 
nus of  mental  life?  A  man  who,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
keeps  his  mind  awake  and  active,  and  while  doing  reasonable 
service  takes  due  care  of  his  earthly  tabernacle,  may,  by  God's 
blessing,  be  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  his  intellectual  energies; 
and  let  not  the  suspicion  arise  that  this  is  the  sinister  plea  of 
one  near  the  verge  of  the  black  line  beyond  which  lie  the  gloomy 
shades  of  intellectual  death.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  an  impres- 
sion drawn  from  many  years'  observation  and  is  a  deliberate 
and  settled  conviction.  It  is  a  conclusion  which  carries  com- 
fort and  hope  to  the  hoary  head  crowned  with  glqry. 

My  venerable  and  elder  brother  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  glorious 
ministry  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  all  hail. 

We  have  lived  to  see  better  days  than  our  predecessors  and  ancient 
contemporaries.  I  recollect  not  to  have  seen  your  face,  to  have  known 
you,  or  to  have  the  least  passing  interview  with  you;  but  when  I  was  a 
youth  between  fifteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age,  you  were  a  man,  and  Presi- 
dent of  Kingswood  School,  which  must  be,  in  my  calculation,  between  fifty 
and  fifty-five  years  past.  Though  I  was  active  some  years,  and  frequent- 
ly called  upon  to  act  as  a  supply  for  the  traveling  connection,  and  traveled 
the  first  year  nine  or  ten  months  (though  less  or  more,  I  cannot  say  cor- 
rectly) in  the  Staffordshire  Circuit,  the  circuit  in  which  I  lived,  in  the 
place  of  William  Orpe,  the  four  Conference  years  that  I  traveled  were  in 
Bedford  and  Salisbury  alternately.  From  thence  I  came  to  America  and 
am  now  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  my  mission,  which  will  close  the 
twentieth  of  next  October. 

I  have  been  broken,  breach  upon  breach,  by  affliction,  so  that  I  am  at 


438  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

present  completely  superannuated,  having  passed,  August  21,  the  first 
period  of  the  life  of  man;  and  it  has  been  for  some  years  past  a  permanent 
sentiment  with  me  that  in  such  a  case  no  man  high  in  office,  however 
great  in  qualifications,  should  stand  in  high  responsibility  in  the  Church 
of  God,  but  rather  retire  and  give  place  to  younger  and  stronger  men  in 
body  and  mind,  such  as  our  junior  superintendent,  to  whom  I  have  ceded 
the  presidential  chair  of  every  Annual  Conference  for  these  seven  years 
past.  It  was  also  my  pleasure,  when  present,  always  to  give  Dr.  Coke 
the  president's  chair.  Glory  to  God,  our  houses  are  set  in  order!  Our 
order  of  things  is  such  that  we  have  about  fifty-five  presiding  elders, 
that  by  turns  of  four  years  at  farthest,  yet  movable  at  any  time  when 
the  episcopacy  judge  of  the  importance  of  the  case.  These  presiding  elders 
serve  a  probation  of  seven  or  fourteen  years  in  large  and  very  consequen- 
tial districts  and  have  their  quarterly  meeting  Conferences  of  the  official 
departments  of  the  local  ministry,  possibly  in  some  large  circuit  of  long 
standing,  that  compose  from  sixty  to  eighty,  or  near  one  hundred  members, 
and  examine  characters,  try  cases,  admit  and  give  authority  to  exhorters 
and  local  preachers,  examine  local  preachers  and  local  deacons  for  election 
and  ordination  to  deacons'  and  elders'  office  in  the  Annual  Conference. 
These  presiding  elders,  in  the  absence  of  the  bishops,  and  that  rule  well, 
are  counted  worthy  of  double  honor.  In  the  absence  of  a  bishop  appointed 
by  him,  if  not  appointed  to  be  elected  by  the  Conference  to  preside  in 
and  do  the  business  of  the  Annual  Conference.  And  we  have  the  pleasure 
to  believe  that  such  is  their  age  and  improvement  that  we  have  not  only  a 
half  a  dozen,  but  a  dozen,  if  called  to  preside  in  an  Annual  Conference 
who  would  do  it  with  ease,  dignity,  and  correctness,  assisted  by  their 
brethren,  the  presiding  elders. 

If  a  bishop,  at  any  distance  where  a  mail  can  go,  has  consequential  busi- 
ness to  the  whole  Conference,  he  has  only  to  communicate  to  one  man; 
he  to  write  to  the  other  presiding  elders;  they  to  communicate  to  the  men 
who  have  charge  6f  stations  and  circuits;  the  work  is  done. 

Bishops  in  Greece  or  Rome,  what  have  they  been  in  frightful  forms? 
What  have  they  been,  men  or  fiends?  Bishops  in  our  age,  among  the 
Presbyterians  and  Independent  Churches,  the  Baptists,  and  the  com- 
monality of  the  people  are  ready  to  suppose  that  a  bishop  is  a  tyrant,  the 
same  as  a  pope,  dreadful,  dangerous  creatures.  Possibly  some  very 
wise  men,  with  all  their  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin,  have  not  found  out 
the  pure  derivation  of  that  word.  It  is  very  near  to  a  perfect  German 
word,  in  both  consonants  and  vowels,  admitting  the  German  prpnuncia- 
tion  and  the  English  pronunciation  to  differ,  bi-schoft,"  the  chief  minister. 
With  us  a  bishop  is  a  plain  man,  altogether  like  his  brethren,  wearing 
no  marks  of  distinction,  advanced  in  age,  and  by  virtue  of  his  office  can 
sit  as  president  in  all  the  solemn  assemblies  of  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel;  and  many  times,  if  he  is  able,  called  upon  to  labor  and  suffer  more 
than  any  of  his  brethren;  no  negative  or  positive  in  forming  Church  rules; 
raised  to  a  small  degree  of  constituted  and  elective  authority  above  all 
his  brethren;  and  in  the  executive  department,  power  to  say,  "Brother, 


Appendix  439 

that  must  not  be,  that  cannot  be;"  having  full  power  to  put  a  negative 
or  a  positive  in  his  high  charge  of  administration;  and,  even  in  the  An- 
nual Conference,  to  correct  the  body  or  any  individual  that  may  have 
transgressed  or  would  transgress  and  go  over  the  printed  rules  by  which 
they  are  to  be  governed,  and  bring  up  every  man  and  everything  to  the 
printed  rules  of  order  established  in  the  form  of  Discipline  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  America. 

It  is  an  established  maxim  with  us  that  if  a  man  is  not  well  taught  and 
practical  in  obedience  to  know  how  to  serve,  he  will  never  know  how 
to  have  command  or  be  fit  to  take  any  office  in  the  Church  of  God,  and  that 
stubborn,  disobedient  men  must  be  mended,  though  it  will  take  much  time 
and  more  labor. 

Several  brethren  among  us  have  sincerely  wished  that  there  could  be 
some  mode  of  communication  and  union,  such  as  can  take  place,  consider- 
ing distance  and  circumstances,  and  administration,  and  order,  between  us 
and  the  parent  society.  We  have  hoped  it  would  be  for  the  best,  then 
again  we  have  feared  we  should  not  find  safe  hands  to  put  our  business 
into  the  British  Conference  to  conduct,  and  that  misunderstandings  and 
misrepresentations  might  bring  us  into  trouble  and  bring  on  a  greater  sep- 
aration; and  I  can  truly  say  for  one,  that  the  greatest  affliction  and  sorrow 
of  my  life  was  that  our  dear  father,  from  the  time  of  the  Revolution  to  his 
death,  grew  more  and  more  jealous  of  myself  and  the  whole  American  con- 
nection ;  that  it  appeared  we  had  lost  his  confidence  almost  entirely.  But  he 
rigidly  contended  for  a  special  and  independent  right  of  governing  the  chief 
minister  or  ministers  of  our  order,  which,  in  our  judgement,  went  not  only  to 
put  him  out  of  office,  but  to  remove  him  from  the  continent  to  elsewhere, 
that  our  father  saw  fit;  and  that,  notwithstanding  our  constitition  and 
the  right  of  electing  every  Church  officer,  and  more  especially  our  super- 
intendent, yet  we  were  told,  "Not  till  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley"  our 
constitution  could  have  its  full  operation.  For  many  years  before  this 
time  we  lived  in  peace  and  trusted  in  the  confidence  and  friendship  of 
each  other.  But  after  the  Revolution,  we  were  called  upon  to  give  a  printed 
obligation  which  here  follows,  and  which  could  not  be  dispensed  with,  it  must 
be:  "During  the  life  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley,  we  acknowlege  ourselves  his 
sons  in  the  gospel;  ready,  in  matters  belonging  to  Church  government  to 
obey  his  commands;  and  we  do  engage,  after  his  death,  to  do  everything 
that  we  judge  consistent  with  the  cause  of  religion  in  America  and  the  po- 
litical interests  of  the  States,  to  preserve  and  promote  our  union  with  the 
Methodists  in  Europe. ' '  Our  people  and  preachers  were  coming  out  of  their 
childhood,  they  thought  for  themselves.  If  this  obligation  was  necessary, 
why  not  introduce  it  in  former  years,  in  better  times?  Matters  have 
strangely  changed;  much  blood  has  been  shed;  the  minds  of  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  the  United  Kingdom  must  be  exceedingly  changed 
and  soured  against  each  other,  and  the  state  of  things  will  never  be  as 
it  has  been  between  the  two  countries.  Some  said  that  the  citizens  of 
both  countries  are  so  much  alike  that  we  shall  have  war  again  in  ten, 
twenty,  or  thirty  years.  Foreigners  by  thousands  coming  to  our  country 


440  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

and  crossing  their  own;  pushing  themselves  into  office,  and  blowing  the 
coals  of  strife;  magnifying  small  offenses;  raising  mountains  out  of  mole- 
hills; a  word  and  a  blow;  stricken  by  wicked  and  impious  officers  that 
don't  know  their  duty;  putting  to  death  a  most  ancient  and  noble  British 
character;  and  a  grand  and  noble  and  generous  and  affable  American 
character  dying  swiftly  and  yet  both  sides  crying  out,"If  you  cannot  lead 
us,  you  shall  not  drive  us;"  and  both  sides  going  to  driving  as  hard  as 
they  can  with  fire  and  sword. 

Mr.  Wesley  is  to  this  day,  and  always  has  been,  respected  and  loved 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  in  America  as  a  great  apostolic  man;  and 
hundreds  of  children  continually  named  after  him — yea,  thousands. 
In  America  some  of  our  enemies  know  that  of  all  the  good  and  holy  men 
that  our  dear  John  the  divine  of  London,  and  John  the  divine  of  Madeley, 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolotion,  had  written  more  on  worldly  affairs  than 
any  gospel  men  in  Europe  or  America.  I  spare  the  dead,  and  yet  I  think 
that  a  degree  of  justice  is  due  to  the  memory  of  such  an  apostolic  man 
as  John  Wesley.  I  perfectly  clear  him  in  my  own  mind,  and  lay  the 
whole  blame  of  the  whole  business  upon  Diotrephes,  of  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don. Little  did  I  think  that  we  had  such  an  enemy  that  had  the  continual 
ear  and  confidence  of  Mr.  Wesley.  This  I  believe  from  good  testimony, 
eye-  and  earwitnesses,  who,  some  years  after,  when  they  saw  that  my 
mind  was  so  deeply  afflicted  that  I  did  not  get  clear  of  it  for  some  years 
after  Mr.  Wesley's  death.  Dr.  Coke  and  John  Harper  told  me  what  they 
had  seen  and  heard  and  known  and  felt.  Dr.  Coke  said  that  as  often  as 
Mr.  Wesley  went  to  see  Diotrephes,  hie  came  back  with  his  mind  strangely 
agitated  and  dissatisfied  with  the  American  connection;  that  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do  to  put  him  to  rights;  and  the  counsel  of  Diotrephes,  in 
a  full  Conference,  was  in  substance  this:  "If  he  [Diotrephes]  had  the  power 
and  authority  of  Mr.  Wesley,  he  would  call  Frank  Asbury  home  directly." 
John  Harper  was  the  man  who  was  present  in  the  Conference  and  heard 
this  advice  given  and  told  me  several  years  after  in  America  with  his 
own  mouth.  Yet  I  spare  the  dead  and  must  write  the  truth,  that  he  (Diotre- 
phes) wrote  to  the  Messrs.  Wesley  for  counsel  and  advice  in  our  critical 
situation,  advice  which  we  thought  truly  apostolic  and  worthy  of  the 
minister  of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  in  substance  was  to  give  as 
little  offense  as  possible  either  to  Jew  or  Gentile  or  to  the  Church  of  God; 
to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  this  world  if  he  could  help  it, 
and  mind  the  business  of  our  spiritual  calling.  Diotrephes  made  this 
instruction  pretty  public  among  the  preachers  and  the  people,  and  then 
they  charged  him  with  violating  every  part  of  it.  He  was  positive  beyond 
all  description  that  the  Americans  should  be  brought  back  to  the  old  govern- 
ment, and  that  immediately.  It  appeared  to  me  that  his  object  was  to 
sweep  the  continent  of  every  preacher  that  Mr.  Wesley  had  sent  to  it 
and  of  every  respectable  traveling  preacher  from  Europe  who  had  gradu- 
ated among  us,  whether  English  or  Irish.  He  told  us  that  if  we  returned 
to  our  native  country,  we  should  be  esteemed  as  such  obedient,  loyal 
subjects  that  we  should  obtain  ordination  in  the  grand  Episcopal  Church 


Appendix  441 

of  England  and  come  back  to  America  with  high  respectability  after  the 
war  was  ended.  Francis  did  not  believe  it;  and  he  possessed  a  senior 
right  after  the  removal  of  Boardman  and  Pilmoor,  and  God  had  given 
him  souls  for  his  hire  and  souls  for  his  charge  among  the  people,  and  a 
number  of  eminent  preachers,  both  traveling  and  local,  wanted  nothing 
but  a  man  to  go  in  and  out  before  them  to  give  them,  if  we  had  not  books, 
order  and  discipline  by  the  word  of  mouth.  Francis  thought  as  he  had 
possession,  it  was  best  to  hold  it,  especially  when  abundance  of  respectable 
members  said,  "Will  you  leave  us?  Will  you  leave  us?"  And  it  was  the 
general  language  of  the  American  people  and  preachers  that  those  preach- 
ers from  Europe  who  were  dissatisfied  with  the  measures  of  the  country 
had  better  go  home. 

At  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  one  of  his  European  disciples  asked  an- 
other, "Who  will  preach  his  funeral  sermon?  Who  will  write  his  Life?" 
They  corrected  themselves  by  saying:  "Mr.  Wesley  has  written  his  own 
life  better  than  any  other  man  can  write  it."  And  0  that  it  had  been  so! 
or  that  if  anything  had  been  done,  it  had  been  after  the  model  of  the  Life  of 
the  Vicar  of  Madeley,  compiled  by  Joseph  Benson,  which  has  been  made 
an  unspeakable  blessing  to  my  mind  in  reading  it.  It  has  been  inpressed 
with  great  weight  upon  my  mind  for  several  years  that  it  was  my  indis- 
pensable duty  to  write  to  some  person  in  London  or  elsewhere  a  true  and 
correct  account,  because  I  think  that  Mr.  Wesley  has  been  reproached 
beyond  anything  that  was  thrown  upon  him  before  that  period  by  the 
London  writer  of  his  "Life."  You  will  examine,  as  an  early  contemporary 
of  the  Oxford  Methodists  and  the  last  branch  of  that  order,  you  will 
see  in  substance  that  with  respect  to  the  American  ordination  Mr. 
Wesley  is  represented  as  invading  and  usurping  all  Church  order.  And 
yet  the  author  grants  if  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  elected  and  chosen  by  the 
American  preachers  and  people,  it  would  have  been  in  gospel  order  and 
proper.  Did  that  author  know,  or  was  he  ignorant?  Why  did  he  write  in  the 
dark?  The  people  of  Mr.  Wesley's  charge  in  America,  many  thousands,  were 
under  total  privation  of  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  most  of  the  Episcopa- 
lians had  deserted  their  stations  and  Churches  from  almost  every  part 
of  the  continent.  The  Presbyterians  held  no  open  communion.  The 
Methodists  could  not  become  Presbyterians  in  sentiment,  they  would 
not  be  Baptists,  neither  Independents.  When  the  preachers  first  came 
to  the  continent,  with  what  affection  they  were  received!  Multitudes 
came  forward  as  constant  hearers  and  members  of  the  society,  and  imme- 
diately the  tables  of  the  Lord  in  their  former  Churches  were  closed  against 
them.  When  our  brethern  would  say,  "O  that  you  had  been  ordained  to 
administer  the  ordinances  of  God  to  us!"  it  was  of  no  account  to  say  the 
Episcopal  bishops  would  not  ordain  us.  "Mr.  Wesley  should  have  ordained 
you."  And  thus  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
preachers  and  people  crying  continually  for  the  universal  election  of  Mr. 
Wesley  to  ordain  ministers  for  America  because  he  was,  as  we  believe, 
an  apostolic  man,  admitting  upon  trial  and  into  connection  the  preachers 
of  his  charge,  governing  and  stationing  every  one  of  them,  that  he  came 


442  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

short  only  in  ordination.  Now,  sir,  I  submit  it  to  you,  as  to  Dr.  Whitehead's 
"Life"  of  Mr.  Wesley,  if  there  is  power  and  authority  in  any  part  of  your 
body,  in  justice  to  Mr.  Wesley  (asking  no  mercy),  when  called  upon  by 
hundreds  and  thousands  for  so  long  a  time  to  exercise  the  third  branch 
of  apostolic  power  in  ordination,  and  that  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
preachers  and  people  have  blessed  and  praised  God  for  the  wisdom  given 
to  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Baltimore  General  Conference  in  1784,  to  form 
upon  such  pure  principles  a  truly  apostolic  Church,  the  success  which 
has  attended  the  labors  of  its  ministers.  We  must  say  that  Dr.  White- 
head's  history  must  be  corrected  according  to  this  testimony  or  sup- 
pressed as  containing  a  deformation  of  that  man  of  God,  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  and  the  whole  body  of  American  Methodists.  We  feel  de- 
termined to  stand  in  apostolic  order  and  gospel  ground.  "Separate 
me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them. 
And  with  fasting  and  prayer  they  laid  their  hands  on  them."  (Acts  xiii. 
2,  3.)  A  distinct  name,  office,  and  order,  elders  in  the  Church  of  God. 
(Acts  xiv.  23.) 

Never  since  was  any  man,  for  so  many  years,  called  upon  to  ordain 
ministers  for  America;  never  since  could  a  people  be  so  overjoyed  and 
conform  so  universally  as  with  one  heart  and  mind.  This  was  what  we 
wanted  and  requested  from  year  to  year;  and  we  have  obtained  it  at  last. 
Bless  God  and  bless  Mr.  Wesley! 

We  do  not  suffer  one  officer  in  the  Church  of  God  to  assume  or  invade 
the  rights  of  another;  a  licensed  exhorter  to  be  always  attempting  to  preach; 
a  traveling  or  local  preacher  must  not  baptize  without  ordination;  a  deacon, 
traveling  or  local,  administer  the  Lord's  supper  but  under  the  order  of  an 
elder.  On  no  account  will  we  suffer  the  elders  to  ordain  alone,  but  to 
come  forward  when  called  upon  by  the  bishop  (in  names  and  number) 
to  assist  in  the  ordination  of  elders.  We  do  not  suffer  our  presiding  elders 
to  invade  any  singular  right  of  episcopacy. 

Here  is  the  simple  method  which  we  have  followed  from  the  beginning 
in  the  management  of  our  temporal  affairs.  Our  stewards  are  elected 
in  every  Conference.  They  call  first  on  all  the  preachers  belonging  to 
the  Conference  to  know  what  they  have  received  for  quarterage  in  the 
stations  and  districts  wherein  they  have  labored  the  year  past.  By  doing 
this  they  come  immediately  to  know  what  preachers  have  already  received 
their  full  demand  and  what  preachers  are  deficient,  according  to  our 
rules  of  discipline.  Then  they  call  for  all  the  collections  that  have  been 
brought  in,  with  $200  per  Conference  from  the  book  interest  and  $140 
from  the  Chartered  Fund,  small  matters!  and  the  dividend  must  be 
made  among  twelve  Conferencesrin  the  year  instead  of  nine. 

We  send  you  our  mite  subscription  to  let  you  see  what  additional  won- 
ders we  can  perform  by  the  blessing  of  God,  more  especially  when  we 
hear  such  accounts  from  your  side  of  the  water  of  all  the  Churches  that 
have  been  maintaining  the  local  ministry  sending  out  traveling  minis- 
ters to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  We  wish  them  success  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  They  are  coming  right  at  last!  But  hail  Wesley,  hail  Oxford  Meth- 


Appendix  443 

odists,  who,  seventy  years  ago,  formed  an  apostolic  society  and  sent  forth 
their  traveling  preachers  in  apostolic  order !  Blessed  be  God  that  a  number 
of  simple  men  from  the  Oxford  Methodists  were  directed  to  establish  an 
apostolic  Church  and  put  the  government  in  the  hands  of  traveling  preach- 
ers! And  yet  there  must  be  men  that  cannot  continue  to  travel  and  others 
that  sincerely  wish,  but  have  it  not  in  their  power,  to  travel  who  may  be 
useful  and  enjoy  all  their  rights  and  privileges  in  their  local  state,  and  the 
traveling  minister  held  sacred  and  made  the  very  best  of  all  their  superior 
privileges. 

And  concerning  ordination,  that  it  ought  to  be  held  sacred  and  con- 
sidered as  the  helm  of  good  order,  we  believe.  In  every  age  of  the  Church 
it  has  been,  and  now  is,  held  sacred. 

We  have  heard  of  a  few  simple  people  here  and  there,  hardly  worthy 
of  being  members  of  the  Church,  pleading  their  right  to  sit  down  with  each 
other,  if  it  be  every  day,  and  receive  and  administer  the  Lord's  supper  one 
to  another;  therefore  we  conclude  that  Churches  and  societies  ought  to 
examine  well  what  bearing  their  sayings  and  doings  will  lead  to,  whether 
they  will  introduce  division  and  confusion  or  unity  and  good  order  in  the 
house  of  God,  in  the  body  of  Christ. 

Will  you,  my  dear  sir,  do  what  you  can,  at  this  late  hour  of  life,  as  our 
agent  to  the  British  Conference?  And,  if  you  please,  call  a  confidential 
and  young  man  to  your  assistance.  Will  you  examine  well  any  letters 
and  communications  from  America  and  judge  how  far  it  may  be  proper 
to  print  any  of  them  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  where  and  in  what 
manner  any  difficulties  may  be  explained  and  methods  of  gospel  order 
be  brought  into  operation?  We  have  planted,  we  have  watered,  we  have 
taken  a  most  sacred  charge  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  for  about  twenty- 
two  years.  They  form  two  respectable  districts  in  the  Genesee  Confer- 
ence. They  lie  side  by  side  on  the  northern  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  United  States'  districts  and  circuits  on  the  southern.  The  souls 
of  our  people  in  Canada  are  exceedingly  precious  to  us.  They  are  a  willing 
people,  prompt  to  pay  their  preachers.  They  say:  "Tell  us  what  to  do, 
and  we'll  do  it."  Exclusive  of  the  most  ancient  (who  came  from  various 
parts  of  Europe),  the  additional  and  increasing  inhabitants  now,  of  both 
provinces,  are  multitudes  of  refugees  who  went  from  the  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Many  others  have  preferred  the  Provinces 
to  the  United  States;  and  there  are  at  this  time  large  family  connections 
oh  both  sides  of  the  line  and  many  preachers  that  have  changed  and  inter- 
changed. The  manner  in  which  Montreal  was  taken  possession  of  and  is 
now  held  will  not,  cannot,  be  dispensed  with  by  the  General  Conference, 
by  the  Annual  Conference,  or  by  the  presiding  elder  of  Lower  Canada. 
Thomas  Birch,  one  of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  late  from  Ireland,  was  sent 
to  Montreal  in  the  very  moment  of  time,  just  at  the  commencement  of 
the  war,  and  was  permitted  to  stay  a  year  longer  than  our  constitution 
grants  (the  state  of  the  case  justifying  it),  and  returned  to  the  United 
States  with  an  honorable  recommendation  from  the  society.  Strange,  when 
Samuel  Montgomery  had  been  sent,  with  the  greatest  expedition,  six  hun- 


444  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

dred  miles  to  supply  the  place  of  Thomas  Birch,  that  Samuel  (one  of  His 
Majesty's  subjects,  late  from  Ireland)  should  be  prevented  from  taking 
his  charge  by  the  British  missionary !  And  who  is  to  examine  Mr.  William's 
conduct?  Mr.  Bennett,  of  the  province  of  Novia  Scotia?  the  British  Con- 
ference? or  the  Directors  of  the  Missionary  Society?  Henry  Ryan,  pre- 
siding elder  of  Lower  Canada,  made  a  visit  to  Montreal  by  order  of  the 
bishops  and  Genesee  Conference.  He  has  obtained  testimonies  which  will 
be  handed  forward  to  the  Agent  of  our  affairs,  presented  in  their  order. 
We,  as  ministers  of  Christ,  think  it  a  sin  of  sins  to  divide  the  body  of  Christ. 
There  was  special  caution  given  to  Thomas  Birch,  Samuel  Montgomery, 
and  Henry  Ryan;  and  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that,  possibly, 
two-thirds  of  the  society  in  Montreal  would  put  themselves  under  the 
government  of  the  American  connection.  But  we  shall  bear  long,  suffer 
long,  and  make  every  explanation,  till  the  charge  is  given  up  to  us. 
Whether  the  thing  has  been  done  through  ignorance  or  through  the 
influence  of  wicked  and  designing  men,  we  shall  give  our  fathers  and 
brethren  time  to  inform  themselves  and  time  to  correct  their  conduct, 
for  we  are  sure  that  our  episcopacy  could  never  act  so  out  of  order  as  to 
send  a  preacher  to  take  possession  of  a  charge  so  important  under  the 
oversight  of  the  parent  connection.  And  yet,  in  this  business,  we  would 
touch  that  venerable  body,  or  any  authoritative  part  of  it,  with  the  tender- 
ness of  a  feather  dipped  in  oil. 

Respected  brother,  may  our  presiding  elders  address  their  letters  to 
you,  when  cases  of  a  singular  nature  shall  occur?  At  present,  Francis, 
your  friend,  with  great  difficulty,  has  dictated  this  letter. 

One  thing  more.  Upon  this  continent  we  are  crowded  with  French 
people,  like  polite  heathens  and  barbarians  to  us.  We  want  French  Meth- 
odist preachers.  Despairing  of  obtaining  any  from  the  traveling  connection, 
since  we  have  read  your  reports,  our  only  hope  is  that  some  of  our  brethren 
from  Jersey  and  Guernsey  will  come  over  and  help  us.  We  have  employed 
an  accomplished  young  Frenchman,  of  an  extensive  acquaintance  with 
the  French  Methodists  in  those  islands,  to  write  for  us,  and  see  if  such  a 
man  as  we  want  can  be  obtained.  And  can  you  aid  in  this  matter?  It  is 
our  wish  that  such  a  preacher,  that  is  willing  to  come  to  America,  be  well 
recommended  by  our  brethren  that  know  him,  to  our  agent,  Mr.  Benson, 
on  whose  recommendation  we  shall  depend. 

My  love  and  a  thousand  thanks  to  Mr.  Blanchard  for  the  Minutes; 
to  Mr.  Marsden,  for  the  Reports,  hoping  they  will  continue  their  good- 
ness from  year  to  year.  Let  them  direct  to  any  part  of  the  United  States, 
to  myself  or  the  junior  bishop  or  bishops,  whose  names  will  be  known  upon 
the  Minutes  of  our  Conferences.  And  should  our  Father  and  Brother  Ben- 
son have  any  special  call  and  communication  to  make,  be  sure  to  make  it 
to  one  of  the  presiding  elders,  and  the  business  will  be  taken  up  in  good 
order.  Instruction  will  be  given  by  the  bishops  to  the  presiding  elders, 
that  they  may  be  called  to  write  to  the  agents  of  our  American  affairs, 
in  London  or  elsewhere,  and  possibly  to  be  written  to  from  the  men  of 
our  confidence  in  Europe. 


Appendix  445 

And  now  may  the  God  of  all  grace,  with  his  eternal  Son  and  ever- 
blessed  Spirit,  be  with  us  through  time  and  for  ever  and  ever!  Amen. 

FRANCIS  ASBURY. 

I,  Thomas  Mason,  who  wrote  this  letter,  salute  my  fathers  and  brethren 
in  the  Lord. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA,  January  15,  1816. 

P.  S. — Mr.  Wesley  could  not  come  himself  to  America,  but  he  sent  one 
that  was  well  qualified.  Dr.  Coke  and  myself  were  so  liberal  as  to  submit 
ourselves  to  an  election,  before  Francis  was  ordained  to  his  office  as  bish- 
op and  superintendent,  at  the  first  General  Conference,  in  Baltimore, 
December,  1784.  Dr.  Coke,  notwithstanding  his  visits  were  transient, 
was  very  useful,  both  as  a  divine  and  as  a  classical  man.  He  was  esteemed 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  in  America.  His  writings  will  be  read  with 
attention;  his  memory  will  be  precious.  The  Americans  knew  his  worth 
and  knew  not  only  his  labors  and  travels,  but  some  of  his  sufferings,  as  he 
was  often  compelled  by  necessity  to  take  up  with  very  mean  lodgings, 
through  some  of  the  extreme  parts  of  our  country  and  at  very  early  set- 
tlements, as  Francis  (who  generally  attended  him)  and  many  others  can 
witness.  Add  to  this,  that  every  visit  he  had  to  cross  and  recross  the 
Atlantic.  It  is  true,  Dr.  Coke  had  his  troubles  in  America,  and  it  is  true 
that  Francis  Asbury  had  his  troubles.  And  we  heard  that  Mr.  Wesley 
.had  his  troubles,  and  no  wonder,  when  he  was  told  (as  possibly  made  to 
believe)  that  no  sooner  had  he  granted  the  Americans  what  they  wished 
than  they  declared  themselves  independent  of  him!  Had  we  not  lived  in 
all  good  confidence  and  fellowship  for  fifteen  years?  No  complaint  on 
our  side,  no  complaint,  that  we  heard  of,  from  Mr.  Wesley!  Why  then 
should  our  generous  minds  be  called  to  enter  an  obligation  which  we  never 
had  violated  and  which  I  believe  there  was  no  intention  to  violate?  And 
I  must  believe  that  the  Americans  were  greater  friends  than  Mr.  Wesley 
had  through  Europe  or  the  world.  They  had  read  all  his  books  that  had 
come  to  hand;  they  heard  of  all  his  excellences,  his  labors,  sufferings, 
and  success;  and  who  with  them  but  Mr.  Wesley?  Almost  every  large 
and  steady  family  among  the  old  disciples  must  have  a  Wesley  among 
the  children.  Francis  had  been  charged  (and  perhaps  very  properly) 
with  being  a  man  of  gloomy  mind  and  sometimes  a  prophet  of  evil  tidings 
concerning  ministerial  men;  but  many  of  his  brethren,  after  proper  trial, 
have  confessed,  if  they  were  evil,  they  were  true  in  the  end. 

Mr.  Wesley  wrote  concerning  Diotrephes,  honest  George,  and  Francis: 
"You  three  be  as  one;  act  by  united  counsels."  But  who  was  to  do  that 
with  Diotrephes?  Francis  had  a  prior  right  of  government,  by  special 
order  and  letter  from  Mr.  Wesley,  a  few  months  after  he  had  been  in  the 
country;  and  if  he  could  not  exercise  it  in  the  cities,  where  the  first  mis- 
sionaries that  came  over  were  located  by  necessity  (having  no  proper  men 
to  change  with  them),  yet  Francis  in  the  country  endeavored  to  do  the 
best  he  could.  Matters  did  not  fit  well  between  Diotrephes  and  him,  and 
poor  Francis  was  charged  with  having  a  gloomy  mind  and  being  very 
suspicious,  etc. 


446  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

It  would  be  presumed  because  Francis  was  a  little  heady,  that  Diotre- 
phes  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley  to  call  Francis  home  immediately.  Be  it  as  it 
might,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  such  a  letter  to  Francis;  and  Francis  wrote  in 
answer  that  he  would  prepare  to  return  as  soon  as  possible,  whatever  the 
sacrifice  might  be.  Then  Diotrephes  said:  "You  cannot  go;  your  labors 
are  wanted  here."  Francis  said:  "Mr.  Wesley  has  written  for  me;  I  must 
obey  his  order."  Diotrephes  said:  "I  will  write  to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  satisfy 
him."  Shortly  after  came  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  Francis,  in  sub- 
stance thus:  "You  have  done  very  well  to  continue  in  America  and  help 
your  brethren  when  there  was  such  a  great  call." 

And  now,  my  father  and  brother,  I  know  not  a  man  in  the  British  con- 
nection to  write  to.  They  are  the  children  of  forty-five  or  fifty  years, 
you  are  the  man,  and  you  were  the  father  when  they  were  children.  I 
leave  these  things  with  you,  to  make  any  use  or  no  use  of  them.  I  have 
confidence  in  you  that  you  will  not  make  a  bad  use  of  them.  F.  A. 


DR.  WINANS'S  LETTER  TO  BISHOP  McKENDREE, 
GIVING  PARTICULARS  OF  SAMUEL  PARKER'S 
DEATH 

THE  author  and  the  subject  of  the  accompanying  letter  were 
both  ministers  greatly  beloved  and  respected.  William  Winans 
is  an  honored  and  household  name  im  the  Southwest  and  not 
unknown  to  fame  as  a  true,  wise,  and  gifted  preacher  throughout 
the  Methodist  domain. 

He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  November  3,  1788.  When 
about  sixteen,  his  family  removed  to  Ohio.  He  was  admitted 
in  the  Western  Conference  in  1808;  in  1809,  at  the  call  of  the 
bishop,  volunteered  with  Sela  Paine  and  was  transferred  to  the 
Mississippi  Conference;  married  happily  in  1815,  and  located 
on  account  of  impaired  health.  He  was  readmitted  in  1820,  and 
continued  to  fill  important  appointments  until  1851,  when  he 
took  a  superannuated  relation,  in  which  he  continued  until  his 
death,  August  31, 1857,  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  every  General  Conference  held  from  1824  to  his  death, 
and  was  inferior  as  a  clear,  logical,  and  powerful  debater  to  no 
one  in  any  of  these  assemblies.  He  was  tall,  thin,  and  negli- 
gent of  dress,  always  leaving  his  collar  unbuttoned,  and  although 
never  boorish  or  repulsive  in  his  manners,  yet  evidently  think- 
ing but  little  of  his  appearance.  His  intellectual  faculties  were 
of  the  first  order.  No  one  would  sooner  detect  a  sophism  or 
more  quickly  and  effectively  explode  it.  When  excited  in  de- 
bate, his  vehemence  of  manner  was  terrible,  very  great;  his 
mind  seemed  to  be  aroused  to  a  white  heat,  the  veins  in  his  bare 
neck  and  his  forehead  swelled  as  if  ready  to  burst,  his  language 
electrified  his  hearers  as  his  thoughts  electrified  himself,  and  so 
clear,  so  logical,  and  resistless  were  his  arguments  that  his  con- 
clusions were  felt  to  be  demonstrations.  His  antagonist  was  im- 
paled and  powerless.  He  rarely  spoke  except  on  important  sub- 
jects, and  whenever  he  threw  himself  fully  into  a  discussion,  it  re- 
minded me  of  the  heaviest  ordnance  hurling  enormous  missiles. 
He  was  a  great  reader;  and  while  he  delighted  in  profound 
biblical  and  scientific  subjects,  he  indulged  to  considerable  ex- 
tent in  belles-lettres  studies,  and  not  unfrequently  in  the  lighter 
works  of  fancy  and  fiction.  Reading  was  a  necessity  with 
him,  and  no  man  in  the  South  indulged  in  it  or  enjoyed  it 
more.  His  study  was  his  sanctum,  into  which  he  daily  en- 


448  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

tered,  not  to  be  disturbed  or  to  leave  except  for  his  meals  and 
family  worship.  It  was  a  forbidden  place  to  loungers  and  stran- 
gers, his  own  family  being  permitted  to  enter  but  at  his  permis- 
sion. There  he  read,  studied,  and  wrote  for  many  hours  to- 
gether. Books,  manuscripts,  maps,  and  newspapers  covered 
his  library  shelves,  his  table,  and  frequently  the  floor.  He  lived 
and  worked  there. 

He  was  a  voluminous  writer.  As  an  instance,  I  have  seen 
pile  upon  pile  of  his  notes  and  criticisms  upon  the  whole  of  Dr. 
Clarke's  Commentary  on  the  Bible.  Many  of  them  were  de- 
servedly excoriating.  Shall  we  not  have  the  privilege  of  reading 
something  from  his  pen?  His  published  sermons  constitute  a 
body  of  divinity,  and,  although  too  elaborate  for  the  taste  of 
the  day,  are  profound  and  exhaustive  discussions  of  his  topics. 
His  residence  was  in  a  retired  section  of  the  country,  some 
twenty  miles  from  Natchez,  where  he  had  few  congenial  asso- 
ciates, and  hence  his  seclusion  and  devotion  to  literature.  And 
yet  no  one  enjoyed  the  society  of  his  friends  more  than  he.  His 
manners  in  social  life  were  so  simple,  so  affectionate,  and  hearty 
that  even  the  young  were  ever  ready  to  hail  "Uncle  Winans" 
welcome.  His  love  of  his  Church  was  strong  and  unwavering, 
and  his  attachment  to  Bishops  McKendree,  Roberts,  and  Soule, 
and  his  associates  in  the  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  Conferences 
was  tender  and  fervent.  In  all  questions  of  Church  polity,  he 
was  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Southwest,  and  yet  he  never 
sought  that  position  or  seemed  to  be  aware  of  his  influence.  Or- 
dinarily, he  was  retired  and  silent.  His  private  life  was  simple 
and  pure  and  his  piety  uniform  and  profound. 

Such  was  the  estimate  in  which  his  talents,  general  intelli- 
gence, and  elevated  patriotism  was  held  by  the  first  men  in 
his  section  of  the  country  that  on  one  occasion  of  great 
public  interest,  he  was  nominated  for  a  high  political  position; 
but  as  he  had  not  sought  the  nomination  and  would  not  canvass 
the  country,  of  course  it  came  to  naught.  Demagogism  usually 
carries  the  day  against  patriotism.  I  cannot  forbear  to  add  on 
this  point  that  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  suffered  himself  to 
be  used  for  any  such  purpose.  The  example  is  not  a  good  one, 
and  it  was  the  only  weakness  in  his  history  known  to  the  writer. 

In  closing  this  imperfect  sketch  of  Dr.  Winans,  it  may  be 
safely  said  he  was  a  great  man.  We  are  aware  how  frequently 
an  improperly  this  epithet  is  used.  Words  are  cheap,  and  to 
praise  and  be  praised  are  pleasant.  A  great  preacher  and  a 
learned  divine,  a  paragon  in  mind,  a  Cicero  in  oratory,  and  a 


Appendix  449 

St.  Paul  in  spiritual  efficiency  are  sometimes  manufactured  by 
biographers  out  of  mere  boys  and  sciolists,  a  mere  tyro  in  learn- 
ing, a  surface  skimmer  in  biblical  knowledge,  pedants  and  pla- 
giarists, become  suddenly  and  as  if  by  magic  vastly  eloquent 
and  great  preachers.  It  is  sometimes  humiliating  to  compare 
the  original  with  the  portrait.  Such  indiscriminate  and  unmer- 
ited encomiums  are  not  only  disgusting  to  good  taste,  but  they 
are  morally  wrong  and  work  evil  to  the  subject,  and,  by  setting 
up  a  low  standard  for  the  imitation  of  young  preachers,  do  im- 
mense mischief  to  young  ministers.  It  is  sickening  to  read  such 
works.  The  truth  is,  there  are  very  few  great  men.  Boys  do 
not  become  men  in  a  day,  or  rude  and  ignorant  men  make  ripe 
scholars  and  splendid  orators  at  once.  There  is  not  only  no 
royal  road  to  mathematics,  but  none  to  eminence  as  a  preacher, 
without  patient  and  continuous  study  and  careful  and  assid- 
uous practice.  If  we  closely  scan  our  imaginary  eagle  as  he 
soars  aloft  in  midheaven,  we  shall  find,  not  the  royal  bird,  but 
one  of  a  very  different  feather.  Many  of  our  fathers  were  great 
in  faith,  zeal,  devotion,  and  usefulness,  but  were  neither  Solo- 
mons nor  Ciceros.  We  may  priase  them  for  their  piety,  use- 
fulness, and  power,  but  our  praises  lose  their  force  when  given 
for  qualities  not  claimed  or  possessed  by  them.  But  William 
Winans  was  truly  a  great  man  and  a  good  and  useful  minister. 
No  one  who  knew  him  intimately  will  doubt  or  deny  it;  and  his 
memory  is  still  precious  to  thousands  all  over  these  lands.  His 
death  was  the  triumph  of  a  simple,  strong,  and  soul-felt  confi- 
dence in  his  Master's  word  and  merits,  and  he  therefore  died 
in  holy  peace. 

At  the  date  of  this  letter,  Mr.  Winans  was  teaching  school, 
having  located  on  account  of  infirm  health.  In  1820,  he  reen- 
tered  the  itinerancy  and  continued  as  he  was  able  to  labor  in  it 
for  many  years.  For  several  years  previous  to  his  death,  he  was  a 
superannuated  preacher. 

He  had  known  Samuel  Parker  in  Ohio,  and  if  not  brought  into 
the  ministry  by  him,  had  been  fostered  and  guided  by  his  care 
and  counsel.  He  rejoiced  at  his  transfer  to  the  South,  and  hoped 
he  would  be  a  great  blessing  to  that  destitute  region;  but  alas, 
how  often  are  our  brightest  hopes  disappointed !  Sadly  he  pens 
the  following  obituary  of  his  beloved  friend  to  the  Bishop,  who 
felt  equally  the  loss  of  this  noble  son  in  the  gospel. 

Samuel  Parker  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  born  in  1772  j1  re- 

iThe  Minutes  say  about  1774. 
29 


450  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

moved  to  Uniontown,  Pa.,  where  he  was  converted  in  his  fif- 
teenth year;  thence  he  went  to  Newcastle,  Ky.,  and  was  ad- 
mitted on  trial  in  the  Western  Conference  in  1804.  In  1809,  he 
became  a  presiding  elder  upon  a  district  which  included  the  entire 
States  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri.  In  1813,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  charge  of  the  Miami  District,  the  year  following 
to  the  Kentucky  District.  In  1819,  he  was  selected  and  trans- 
ferred by  the  bishops  to  the  Mississippi  Conference  as  the  most 
suitable  man  to  take  charge  of  that  Southern  work.  The  dis- 
trict to  which  he  was  appointed  embraced  all  Mississippi  and 
Louisiana;  but  he  was  never  able  to  do  any  effective  work  on  it, 
and  died  on  Monday,  December  20,  1819. 

Mr.  Parker  was  a  remarkably  popular  and  useful  minister. 
His  address  was  winning.  He  was  a  master  of  music,  and  his 
power  of  song  was  wonderful,  insomuch  that  he  was  widely  and 
familiarly  known  as  "The  Sweet  Singer."  He  was  regarded 
as  destined  to  great  usefulness  in  the  South,  and  as  "the  right 
man  in  the  right  place;"  but  alas,  his  Master  had  other  views 
and  other  use  for  him,  and  took  him  to  himself,  leaving  his 
family  and  the  Church  astonished  and  almost  crushed  by  their 
sudden  and  great  loss!  This  letter  narrates  the  incidents  of  his 
last  hours  from  the  pen  of  his  devoted  friend  and  admirer,  Wil- 
liam Winans,  to  whom  he  had  been  a  father  in  the  gospel.  But 
they  have  met  "on  the  other  side  of  Jordan"  long  ago. 

Bishop  McKendree. 

Reverend  and  Very  Dear  Sir:  Your  two  letters  bearing  date,  the  one 
August  20,  the  other  October  31,  have  both  been  received  and  should  have 
been  sooner  acknowledged  had  I  known  where  to  direct  a  letter  for  you. 
I  can  now  only  return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kindness  in  writing, 
without  pretending  to  answer  your  letters,  as  there  are  two  subjects  of  a 
very  interesting  character  on  which  I  must  address  you.  One  of  them  is 
the  much-lamented  death  of  our  beloved  Brother  Parker.  His  health  has 
never  been  amended  since  you  left  the  country.  About  the  first  of  October, 
I  think,  he  was  confined  to  his  house,  from  which  he  was  never  able  to  be 
long  absent.  At  the  time  of  the  Conference,  and  for  some  weeks  previously, 
he  was  scarcely  able  to  sit  up;  yet  he  thought  himself  in  no  danger,  espe- 
cially as  there  were  some  favorable  symptoms  about  the  commencement  of 
Conference.  In  this  flattering  opinion  he  had  but  one  associate — i.  e.,  the 
Bishop.  He  fondly  hoped  Brother  Parker  would  be  able  in  a  few  weeks 
to  resume,  or  rather  commence,  active  service  on  the  district,  and  there- 
fore continued  him  in  that  office.  I  was  then  fully  persuaded  he  could  not 
recover,  as  out  of  many  whom  I  had  known  afflicted  in  the  same  way  I 
had  never  known  one  restored  to  health.  After  my  return  home,  therefore, 
I  wrote,  requesting  Brother  Parker  to  furnish  me  the  outlines  of  his  his- 


Appendix  451 

tory;  informing  him  that  if  it  should  meet  his  approbation,  and  I  should 
survive  him,  I  intended  to  write  for  the  Magazine  a  short  account  of  his 
life.  His  wife  asked  him  if  he  intended  complying  with  my  request.  He 
replied,  he  would  rather,  should  his  life  be  written,  that  I  should  do  it  than 
any  other,  but  added:  "  I  have  nothing  to  say,  only  that  I  am  a  sinner  saved 
by  grace."  Such  was  the  humility  and  retiring  modesty  of  this  eminent 
saint.  He  afterwards,  for  my  satisfaction  alone,  I  presume,  indicated  a 
disposition  to  comply  with  my  request;  but  it  was  now  too  late.  The  chill- 
ing hand  of  death  had  disabled  him  by  its  rapid  progress  either  to  write  or 
dictate.  On  Saturday,  the  18th  instant,  he  was  helpless;  on  Sunday,  all  his 
powers  seemed  rapidly  sinking,  and  his  wife  desired  I  might  be  sent  for  to 
see  him  die,  or,  if  too  late  for  that,  to  preach  his  funeral  sermon.  He  wished 
to  see  me,  but  manifested  some  uneasiness  at  the  idea  of  putting  me  to  the 
trouble  of  going  so  far.  Such  was  always  his  tenderness  toward  others. 
They  sent  for  me  on  Monday,  and  on  Tuesday  night  I  reached  Brother 
Bryan's  in  the  neighborhood,  where  I  learned  he  had  died  on  Monday,  and 
that  the  grave  was  then  shut  upon  him.  On  Sunday  I  preached  his  funeral 
sermon  to  a  large,  attentive,  and  weeping  audience,  on  Revelation  xiv.  13; 
and  I  trust  that  he,  whose  life  was  so  extensively  employed  for  the  good  of 
souls,  will  not  have  died  in  vain.  To  say  anything  to  you  of  his  general 
character  would  be  wholly  superfluous.  It  may  not  be  amiss,  however,  to 
state  that  he  wai  patient,  resigned,  and  cheerful  throughout  his  long  afflic- 
tion. In  the  immediate  prospect  of  death,  he  enjoyed  a  sweet  peace,  a 
calm  tranquillity  of  soul,  which  enabled  him  to  cast  a  smile  of  triumph  on 
the  tomb  which  now  opened  to  swallow  him  up.  Asked  by  Brother  Mc- 
Lendon,  "Is  your  way  clear?"  he  replied  with  a  smile  in  the  affirmative. 
Sister  Parker  bears  her  loss  with  Christian  fortitude.  Their  little  son  is 
quite  sick.  Whether  his  loss  to  the  connection  in  this  country  can  be  sup- 
plied is  not  for  me  to  say.  We  are  now  without  a  presiding  elder  and  must 
be  so  for  some  time,  and  I  am  sure  there  is  no  man  among  us  can  fill  the 
place  as  he  could  have  filled  it.  In  the  wisdom  of  Heaven  and  the  provi- 
dence of  our  superintendent  we  repose  for  a  remedy  to  this  disaster.  In 
regard  to  Brother  Parker,  I  will  only  add  that  I  intend  attempting  some- 
thing for  the  Magazine  concerning  him. 

The  other  subject  on  which  I  think  it  necessary  to  say  something  is  the 
business  of  the  New  Orleans  Mission  House.  The  first  project  failed,  I 
believe,  in  consequence  of  the  romantic  character  of  Brother  Moore  and 

Mr.  Ross,  and  perhaps  the  duplicity  of ;  but  especially  because  there 

was  no  system,  no  concert,  no  definite  understanding  among  the  parties. 
Brother  Moore  appeared  before  the  Conference  and  accused  all  the  trustees 
of  a  dereliction  of  a  solemn  contract.  He  was  answered  successfully,  I  be- 
lieve; and  without  attaching  blame  to  anyone,  the  Conference  resolved  to 
set  aside  all  that  had  been  done,  to  vest  the  powers  of  the  trustees  in  the 
missionary  and  two  others,  and  to  advise  these  agents,  if  possible,  to  take 
Mr.  Ross's  property.  Brother  Thompson,  of  New  Orleans,  and  myself, 
were  chosen  for  that  purpose.  We  have  obtained  till  February  to  see 
whether  we  can  obtain  the  necessary  funds  to  meet  the  first  demand.  The 


452  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

prospect  appears  very  gloomy,  and  unless  largely  assisted  from  a  distance,' 
or  by  the  city  itself,  I  do  not  hope  to  be  able  to  secure  the  property.  We 
are  instructed  by  the  Conference  if  we  fail  in  regard  to  Mr.  Ross's  prop- 
erty, to  make  some  other  attempt.  Please  afford  us  all  the  assistance 
you  can. 

We  have  had  the  most  sickly  season  ever  known  in  this  country.  My 
own  family  suffered  greatly.  Ten  of  us  were  very  sick,  and  two  died — an 
infant  son  and  the  black  boy,  which  you  may  remember.  I  was  enabled 
to  be  entirely  resigned.  Brother  Seaton  has  been  very  sick  and  is  not  yet 
wholly  recovered;  Brothers  Lane  and  Menefee  married  before  Conference 
and  Brother  McLendon  since.  Religion  is  still  in  a  languid  condition 
among  us.  We  want  more  preachers  and  more  life  and  love  and  zeal  among 
those  who  are  already  here.  Could  I  bring  my  temporal  concerns  to  such 
a  state  as  to  justify  the  measure,  I  would  offer  myself  to  the  traveling  con- 
nection. I  did  offer  myself  to  the  bishop  to  take  Brother  Parker's  place 
for  the  year,  but  he  was  unwilling  to  remove  Brother  Parker,  though  he 
himself  desired  it.  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  thought  I  am  influenced  by  am- 
bition to  apply  for  this  office,  but  really  there  is  no  other  in  the  traveling 
connection  I  could  fill  without  injustice  to  my  family,  and  I  would  be  glad, 
if  possible,  to  fill  up  some  place  in  this  critical  emergency.  Please  to  con- 
tinue the  favor  of  your  correspondence,  and  believe  me  to  be  your  loving 
though  unworthy  brother  in  the  gospel,  WILLIAM  WINANS. 

WILKERSON  COUNTY,  Miss.,  December  29, 1819. 


LETTER  FROM  WILLIAM  WINANS  TO  BISHOP  Mc- 

KENDREE 

WE  subjoin  another  letter,  of  a  later  date,  from  Dr.  Winans 
to  the  Bishop.  The  reader  will  notice  the  questions  of  Church 
law  propounded  in  this  letter.  If  the  Bishop  replied,  doubtless 
he  answered  the  first  in  the  negative  and  the  second  in  the  af- 
firmative. The  Quarterly  Conference,  or  the  District  Confer- 
ence, as  then  organized  possessed  original  jurisdiction  of  all 
cases  involving  the  characters  of  local  preachers  and  had  au- 
thority to  investigate  them,  whether  previously  acted  upon  by 
committees  or  not.  Committees  of  the  kind  alluded  to  in  the 
letter  were  designed  to  protect  the  Church  and  the  character  of 
the  accused  in  the  intervals  of  the  Conferences.  They  were 
courts  of  inquiry,  not  of  trial;  and  no  action  of  theirs  could 
supersede  the  authority  of  the  court  of  original  jurisdiction,  the 
quarterly  meeting  or  District  Conference. 

Dr.  Winans  would  not  have  asked  these  questions  at  a  later 
period  of  his  ministry,  for  he  became  one  of  the  most  profound 
judges  of  ecclesiastical  law  in  the  Church. 

Rev.  William  McKendree. 

Dear  Sir:  We  were  exceedingly  sorry  that  no  bishop  attended  our  late 
Conference;  first  because  we  are  all  comparatively  inexperienced  in  Church 
government;  secondly,  because  no- one  among  us  has  that  preeminence  in 
age  and  standing  required  of  him  who  would  fill  the  chair  pro  tern,  with 
dignity  and  authority;  and,  thirdly,  because  we  view  the  bishops  as  the 
arterial  part  of  the  circulation  in  our  ecclesiastical  body  from  which  to  be 
separated  is  to  experience  paralysis,  if  not  death.  Several  questions  of 
great  importance  to  good  government  occurred,  which  none  of  us  were  com- 
petent to  answer.  I  think  it  probable  that  many  such  will  arise  at  the  next 
Conference,  and  I  entreat  we  may  have  the  counsel  of  our  superintendents, 
*  or  one  of  them. 

Our  Conference  sat  in  peace  and  harmony  and  love,  and  I  do  believe 
every  member  was  disposed  to  do  the  thing  he  ought.  More  respect  was 
shown  to  the  delegated  authority  of  the  chair  than  could  have  been  ex- 
pected, considering  how  all  unworthy  I  was  of  that  situation.  I  feel  partic- 
ularly grateful  to  my  brethren  for  the  resignation,  and  even  cheerfulness, 
with  which  they  took  the  stations  allotted  to  them.  In  this  delicate  and 
important  branch  of  the  duty  imposed  on  me,  I  did  the  very  best  my  un- 
derstanding (assisted  by  the  other  presiding  elders  and  Brother  Griffin)  en- 
abled me.  There  was  one  instance  in  which  I  felt  it  my  indispensable  duty 
to  depart  from  what  I  believed  to  be  the  views  of  Bishop  George — I  mean, 


454  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

in  the  number  and  description  of  preachers  to  be  employed  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  a  fact  wholly  incontrovertible  that  the  provision 
for  that  country  has  never  been  adequate  to  a  rational  experiment.  This, 
for  the  most  part,  has  been  owing  to  a  want  of  preachers.  Last  year,  how- 
ever, more  might  have  been  sent  without  leaving  any  other  place  so  deso- 
late as  was  that  country,  with  only  two  preachers,  one  of  whom  was  an 
invalid  and  the  other  a  young  man  of  the  second  year.  This  year  it  was 
still  more  practicable  to  supply  that  side  of  the  river  without  serious  injury 
to  this,  and  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  proceed  accordingly.  Nothing  but  a  sense 
of  duty  would  have  been  able  to  inspire  me  with  hardihood  enough  to  act 
contrary  to  what  I  believed  to  be  the  plan  of  one  of  the  bishops.  I  hope  my 
presumption  in  this  matter  will  be  forgiven. 

The  work  has  progressed  throughout  our  whole  territory,  except  in  the 
Louisiana  District,  in  a  manner  very  encouraging.  The  sum  of  our  ac- 
quisition the  last  year  was  about  fifty  per  cent.  Our  increase  in  preachers 
too  is,  all  things  considered,  rather  flattering  than  otherwise.  Seven  were 
admitted  on  trial  and  two  readmitted.  One  has  died,  Nicholas  T.  Sneed; 
two  have  located,  Griffin  and  Booth;  and  one  has  been  expelled. 

Our  next  Conference  is  to  be  held  at  Natchez,  if  practicable;  if  not  (in 
the  discretion  of  the  presiding  elder  and  preacher  in  charge  there),  at 
Washington.  The  vicinity  of  the  places,  and  their  relative  position,  will 
prevent  any  serious  difficulty  or  confusion  from  growing  out  of  this  un- 
certainty. 

The  Conference  has  made  me  sole  agent  of  the  meetinghouse  business 
at  New  Orleans.  The  amount  of  funds  placed  under  my  control,  and  now 
on  interest,  is  (with  the  interest)  about  $1,200;  and  this  is  all  that  remains 
of  what  was  collected  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  meetinghouse  in  that 
city!  Nothing  at  present,  I  think,  can  be  done.  There  is  a  greater  de- 
pression of  business  and  a  greater  consequent  scarcity  of  money  in  this 
country  than  has  ever  been  known  since  the  conclusion  of  the  last  war. 
Indeed,  so  cruelly  was  public  confidence  abused  in  the  last  effort  that  was 
made  in  that  place  that  I  would  be  ashamed  to  ask  assistance  from  distant 
friends  till  we  could  point  to  a  building  going  up,  and  say:  "There  is  your 
security  for  the  faithful  performance  of  our  duty;  help  us  to  finish  the  good 
work." 

If  you  can  find  leisure  and  strength,  be  so  good  as  to  furnish  an  answer 
to  the  following  queries: 

1.  Should  a  local  preacher,  elder,  or  deacon  be  called  before  a  committee 
on  certain  charges  and  acquitted,  though  notoriously  guilty,  would  the 
District  Conference  be  obliged  by  this  acquittal  to  pass  the  case  over  with 
silence? 

2.  Should  the  committee,  in  the  case  supposed,  convict  the  party  of 
an  offense  deserving  suspension  and  merely  reprove  him,  or  the  preacher 
presiding  in  the  committee  neglect  or  refuse  to  suspend  him,  could  the  Dis- 
trict Conference  legally  bring  the  offender  under  trial  for  the  same  charges 
which  had  been  before  the  committee? 

An  answer  to  these  queries  will  be  of  more  service  to  me  than  merely 


Appendix  455 

to  satisfy  curiosity,  inasmuch  as  I  have  reason  to  fear  that  one  or  the  other 
of  these  questions  will  become  of  very  great  practical  importance  at  the 
next  District  Conference. 

I  left  my  family  well  when  I  left  home,  ten  days  ago.  I  need  much  more 
piety.  I  hope  you  will  give  me  a  place  in  your  daily  supplications.  I  am 
sincerely  your  affectionate  though  unworthy  son  in  the  gospel  of  the  blessed 
Jesus,  WILLIAM  WINANS. 

NATCHEZ,  December  31, 1822. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  LETTER  TO  BISHOP  ASBURY 

IT  is  familiar  to  all  who  know  the  course  pursued  by  Bishop 
Asbury  that  for  many  years  he  made  all  the  appointments  of 
the  preachers  without  consulting  anyone.  He  knew  all  the 
work  and  all  the  preachers,  and,  except  it  might  be  in  rare  cases, 
did  not  think  it  necessary  to  ask  for  advice. 

But  Bishop  McKendree  was  unwilling  to  follow  his  example, 
not  thinking  it  impossible  to  obtain  assistance  from  old  and  dis- 
creet members  as  to  the  propriety  of  appointing  certain  men 
to  their  work.  The  senior  feared  the  result,  and  this  letter  was 
penned  to  assure  him  that,  while  he  was  willing  to  accede  to  the 
proposition  he  made  previously,  that  the  senior  should  make  a 
list  of  appointments,  which  was  to  be  revised  by  the  junior  and 
his  advisers,  and  returned  with  these  revisions  to  the  senior  for 
approval  or  rejection,  he  could  not  consent  to  take  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility. He  was  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 
preachers  or  the  work  to  attempt  it  alone,  and  firmly  but  re- 
spectfully declined  doing  so. 

CINCINNATI,  October  8, 1811. 

Brother  Asbury:  I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  utility  and  necessity  of  the 
council  of  the  presiding  elders  in  stationing  the  preachers.  But  you  fear 
individuals  will  make  it  difficult,  if  not  impracticable,  for  you  to  proceed 
on  this  plan.  I  am  willing  to  assist  you  in  the  best  way  I  can,  and,  as  I  am 
in  duty  bound,  so  I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  render  the  most  effectual 
service  to  the  Church.  Consequently,  I  am  still  willing  to  accede  to  the 
proposition  which  you  made  at  the  Genesee  Conference,  if  it  may  be  quali- 
fied. If  it  is  still  your  wish,  I  will  take  the  plan  of  stations,  after  you  have 
matured  it,  call  the  elders  to  my  assistance,  and,  after  deliberate  counsel, 
report  in  favor  or  dictate  such  alterations  as  may  be  thought  necessary. 
But  I  still  refuse  to  take  the  whole  responsibility  upon  myself,  not  that  I 
am  afraid  of  proper  accountability,  but  because  I  conceive  the  proposition 
included  one  highly  improper. 

Yours  in  the  bonds  of  a  yoke  fellow,  W.  McKENDREE. 


THE  REV.  ANDREW  MONROE'S  NOTES  OF  TRAVEL 
WITH  BISHOP  McKENDREE 

WE  have  elsewhere  noted  the  fact  that  the  Rev.  Andrew  Mon- 
roe had  accompanied  the  Bishop  from  Tennessee  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1820,  and  had  furnished  the  writer  with  an  ac- 
count of  the  route.  We  subjoin  an  extact  from  it,  the  remaind- 
er having  been  lost,  the  delay  in  bringing  it  forward  having 
arisen  from  the  hope  of  recovering  the  missing  portion. 

At  the  Nashville  Conference,  held  in  the  autumn  of  1819, 1  was  appoint- 
ed to  the  charge  of  the  Bowling  Green  Circuit,  Kentucky.  About  the  middle 
of  February,  I  received  a  note  from  Bishop  McKendree,  written  from  his 
brother's,  Dr.  James  McKendree,  near  Fountain  Head,  Sumner  County, 
Tenn.,  where  he  had  for  some  time  made  his  home.  He  requested  me  to 
make  ready  and  repair  to  his  quarters,  to  accompany  him  to  the  city  of 
Washington.  The  Bishop  had  been  long  in  bad  health  and  was  still  very 
feeble,  so  much  so,  that  his  friends  remonstrated  against  his  undertaking 
the  journey.  The  winter  was  open  and  wet,  making  the  roads  almost  im- 
passable; besides  this,  we  were  going  on  horseback,  which  would  have  been 
a  severe  tour  for  one  in  the  vigor  of  life  and  health;  but  the  Bishop's  heart 
was  set  upon  meeting  the  preachers  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which 
was  to  meet  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.,  and  neither  bad  health,  advanced  age, 
nor  intolerable  roads  could  intimidate  that  extraordinary  man  of  God. 
Getting  a  supply  for  my  place,  I  made  ready,  and  in  a  few  days  met  the 
Bishop,  who  was  buoyant  in  spirit  and  full  of  resolution.  He  was  provided 
with  the  necessary  fixtures — riding  horse,  pack  horse,  etc. — for  the  journey. 
We  spent  the  first  Sabbath  together  at  Salem.  The  venerable  Valentine 
Cook  had  come  there  to  have  what  he  supposed  would  be  the  last  interview 
with  the  Bishop.  Cook  preached  and  the  Bishop  exhorted.  Our  stopping 
place  was  Brother  Cryer's.  We  left  Monday  morning,  Brother  Cook  ac- 
companying us.  We  traveled  about  twenty  miles  through  mud  and  rain 
and  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  I  found  by  this  time 
that  my  position  would  subject  me  to  much  responsibility  and  toil,  and 
that  my  duties  were  of  a  very  delicate  character;  but  still  I  considered  the 
society  of  the  Bishop  to  be  more  than  a  remuneration.  Tuesday  morning 
we  parted  reluctantly  with  our  venerable  friend,  Brother  Cook,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  our  journey.  Nothing  of  special  note  occurred  during  the  week. 
We  averaged  about  twenty  miles  per  day.  At  this  rate  of  traveling,  the 
Bishop  was  often  so  fatigued  as  to  need  help  in  dismounting;  but  in  the 
morning  he  was  ready  for  breakfast  by  candlelight,  and  the  first  to  mount 
his  horse.  Although  he  always  desired  early  breakfast,  he  never  failed 
(whether  at  a  public  or  private  house)  to  have  religious  worship.  This  he 
made  a  part  of  his  duty,  either  for  night  or  at  noon  for  dinner.  I  remember 


458  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

but  one  instance  in  the  entire  journey  of  leaving  a  house  without  prayers, 
and  that  was  at  a  large  hotel  at  Orange  Courthouse. 

We  arrived  Saturday  evening  at  an  old  acquaintance  of  the  Bishop's, 
who  lived  a  short  distance  from  Kingston;  remained  with  him  overnight; 
rode  into  town  in  the  morning,  and  stopped  with  Brother  Richards,  who 
kept  a  hotel  at  the  time.  I  think  he  was  a  local  preacher. 

Here  we  met  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Edge,  preacher  in  charge.  The  Bishop 
preached  a  short  sermon  at  eleven  o'clock,  from  2  Peter  i.  10.  The  dis- 
course was  doctrinal  and  argumentative.  In  it  he  gave  predestination 
no  quarters.  I  tried  to  preach  at  night  in  the  hearing  of  the  Bishop,  which 
was  a  great  trial  to  me.  Here  I  saw  his  tenacity  for  rule  severely  tried.  A 
local  preacher  had  come  from  a  distant  part  of  the  circuit,  who  claimed  to 
have  a  certificate  of  election  to  deacon's  orders;  but  as  he  had  no  expecta- 
tion of  meeting  the  Bishop,  his  paper  was  left  at  home.  Brother  Edge  was 
present  at  his  election  and  joined  him  in  requesting  the  Bishop  to  ordain 
him.  At  first  he  positively  refused,  and  repelled  every  argument  until 
Monday  morning,  when  he  reluctantly  yielded  to  their  importunity,  and 
ordained  him,  after  which  we  started  on  our  journey.  The  weather  was 
warm  and  the  mud  still  deep. 

In  this  connection,  I  will  mention  an  incident  which  brings  out  one  trait 
in  the  Bishop's  character.  We  had  been  detained  far  beyond  the  usual 
time  of  starting;  he  had  been  worried  and  his  patience  much  tried.  I  was 
perplexed  in  getting  off  and  forgot  his  canister  of  bark.  After  traveling 
about  half  a  mile,  he  inquired  if  I  had  put  it  up,  when  I  answered  in  the 
negative.  He  reined  in  his  horse,  took  the  led  horse  from  me  without  say- 
ing a  word,  but  in  anything  but  a  pleasant  manner.  I  returned  immediate- 
ly, and,  getting  the  forgotten  medicine,  soon  overtook  him.  We  traveled 
for  several  miles  without  speaking;  he  finally  broke  silence  by  remarking 
that,  from  long  sickness  and  fatigue  of  the  journey,  he  had  become  im- 
patient; that  he  did  not  know  how  I  bore  with  him;  but  if  I  would  forgive 
him,  he  would  try  to  do  better.  That,  of  course,  was  an  end  to  the  diffi- 
culty. He  considered  it  noble  to  confess  a  fault,  and  his  manner  was  so 
childlike  and  sincere  that  it  was  a  perfect  cordial  to  the  wounded  spirit. 
He  complained  that  day  more  than  usual;  stopped  with  an  old  friend  some 
time  before  night;  suffered  much  during  the  night  from  asthma,  but  was 
ready  to  renew  the  journey  at  an  early  hour  the  next  day. 

After  breakfast,  and  the  payment  of  a  moderate  bill,  we  went  on  our 
weary  way  twenty  miles,  through  the  deep  mud  to  Orange  Courthouse, 
where  we  stopped  at  Brother  McCormick's.  Most  kindly  did  they  re- 
ceive the  Bishop  and  his  traveling  companion,  for  in  this  way  he  always  in- 
troduced me.  We  had  a  pleasant  time.  A  conversation  occurred  in  the 
course  of  the  evening  which  may  interest  some  of  my  readers,  as  it  did  me 
at  the  time.  It  shows  the  state  of  things  in  Virginia  in  1820. 

Mr.  McCormick  was  complaining  of  the  want  of  an  adequate  supply  of 
preachers.  He  said:  "  We  have  not  enough,  and  then  many  of  the  charges 
are  in  the  hands  of  young,  inexperienced  men."  He  said  that  other  de- 


Appendix  459 

nominations  had  the  advantage  of  ours.  The  Bishop  listened  attentively 
to  his  complaint,  and  then,  in  a  tone  and  manner  of  his  own,  replied:  "It 
is  your  own  fault,  I  mean  the  fault  of  you  Methodists."  All  seemed  sur- 
prised, and  Brother  McCormick  inquired,  "How  so?"  "Well,"  said  he, 
"the  preachers  marry,  as  they  have  a  right  to  do;  then  you  drive  them 
from  the  field  by  withholding  a  support." 

I  learned  from  the  conversation  that  there  was  great  opposition  to  mar- 
ried preachers,  and  also  that  although  the  Bishop  was  an  old  bachelor,  he 
was  a  friend  of  the  married  preachers  and  their  families. 

We  remained  at  Orange  until  Tuesday,  when  we  went  on  as  far  as  Fau- 
quier,  where  the  Bishop,  at  the  earnest  entreaties  of  his  friends,  preached 
to  a  congregation  hastily  gotten  up,  a  most  admirable  discourse,  holding 
his  delighted  hearers  spellbound  for  about  forty  minutes.  His  theme  was 
"God's  love  and  faithfulness  to  his  children."  He  had  recently  passed 
through  the  crucible  and  was  prepared  to  speak  from  experience.  He 
illustrated  the  providence  and  promises  of  God  with  remarkable  clearness 
and  applied  them  with  power. 

The  next  morning  we  continued  our  journey.  The  Bishop's  health  was 
somewhat  improved,  and  as  we  approached  nearer  our  destination,  he  be- 
came more  buoyant.  I  think  it  was  Thursday,  a  little  after  noon,  when  we 
reached  the  Potomac  bridge.  Such  a  bridge,  across  such  a  sheet  of  water, 
was  to  me  a  grand  and  novel  sight.  But  the  scene  was  characterized  by 
two  incidents;  the  first  was  the  terror  that  seized  our  horses,  they  were  so 
frightened  as  to  give  us  strong  grounds  for  fear  on  our  part;  the  second  was 
a  sudden  snowstorm,  which  met  us  with  great  violence  midway  on  the 
bridge  that  we  were  quite  enveloped  for  some  moments,  so  that  we  could 
see  no  land.  While  in  the  midst  of  danger,  I  could  but  ask  the  question, 
Have  we  been  preserved  in  this  long  journey  to  perish  in  sight  of  the  des- 
tined point?  But,  thanks  and  praise  to  Him  who  "directs  the  whirlwind 
and  guides  the  storm,"  the  violence  was  soon  over,  and  we  arrived  safe  on 
land.  The  Bishop  knew  where  the  Conference  held  its  sessions  in  George- 
town, so  we  bent  our  way  immediatly  to  the  place,  and,  alighting  from  the 
carriage,  he  left  the  horses  to  my  care  and  without  notice  presented  him- 
self in  their  midst.  He  was  received  as  one  from  the  dead,  many  not  ex- 
pecting to  see  him  this  side  of  eternity.  After  many  salutations  and  much 
rejoicing  we  were  conducted  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Foxhall,  one  of  the 
Bishop's  old  and  tried  friends,  where  we  had  our  quarters.  He  met  the 
Conference  that  evening  and  addressed  the  body  in  an  interesting  and  af- 
fectionate manner.  The  subjects  that  principally  occupied  his  mind,  and 
of  which  he  conversed  freely  with  the  preachers  and  prominent  members 
of  the  Church,  were  the  missionary  cause  generally  and  the  Indian  missions 
in  particular.  Another  was  the  principles  of  Church  law  and  policy,  the 
power  of  the  ministry  and  the  rights  of  the  membership  as  secured  by  con- 
stitutional law.  He  also  deprecated  what  he  considered  a  tendency  to  con- 
gregational, or  local,  Methodism.  He  was  very  cheerful,  seemed  thankful 
that  he  had  been  preserved  through  the  toils  and  dangers  of  his  long  jour- 
ney, and  addressed  himself  faithfully  to  the  dischargeof  his  duties,  they  being 


460  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  promotion  of  the  permanent  interests  of  the  great  missionary  enter- 
prise. The  Bishop  had  come  to  the  city  clad  in  Tennessee  jeans,  not  by  any 
means  of  the  finest  quality.  This,  of  course,  the  city  folks  could  not  en- 
dure; so,  in  a  very  short  time,  he  was  presented  with  a  full  suit  of  fine  black 
broadcloth.  I  remember  that  he  seemed  slow  to  make  the  change,  and 
when  in  the  act  of  doing  it,  he  remarked  to  me:  "I  am  afraid  of  fine  things; 
fine  things  delude  the  soul."  Many  ordinary  Christians  boast  that  they 
are  not  afraid  of  finery;  yet  this  great  man  of  God,  past  his  threescore 
years,  was  afraid  of  its  influence,  because  he  was  acquainted  with  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  sin  and  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  These  were  points  that  he  had 
studied  most  thoroughly,  as  every  minister  and  Christian  ought  to  do. 

Although  we  had  many  difficulties,  owing  to  the  Bishop's  deep-seated 
infirmities,  the  weight  of  care  which  continually  pressed  upon  his  head  and 
heart,  the  rain,  mud,  and  mire,  and  the  horses  being  badly  adapted  to  the 
service,  still  we  had  cause  to  be  thankful  for  our  health  and  safe  arrival. 


LETTER   FROM    BISHOP   McKENDREE    TO   BISHOP 

SOULE 

THE  Address  referred  to  in  this  letter  of  the  senior  bishop  to 
Joshua  Soule,  then  bishop  elect,  is  that  already  given,  and  which 
was  written  to  the  Annual  Conferences  explaining  his  course  at 
the  General  Conference  as  to  the  suspended  resolutions  and 
recommending  their  adoption,  if  at  all,  in  a  constitutional  way 
—i.  e.,  by  the  vote  of  the  Annual  Conferences  and  of  two-thirds 
of  the  General  Conference. 

His  modesty  and  unselfishness  are  exhibited  in  that  part  re- 
lating to  the  money  appropriated  as  his  salary  and  remitted  to 
him  by  Bishop  Soule.  Money  was  not  his  god.  He  gave  away 
whatever  he  received  which  his  personal  necessities  did  not  re- 
quire. 

We  need  not  stop  to  show  how  truly  and  highly  he  prized 
Bishop  Soule.  No  man  had  his  confidence  and  esteem  in  a 
higher  degree,  and  no  one  more  highly  deserved  it. 

Mr.  Soule  received  this  letter  while  in  New  York: 

LEXINGTON,  KY.,  September  26, 1821. 

Dear  Friend:  I  waited  in  Baltmore  fof  an  answer  to  one  of  my  letters 
with  anxious  care  because  I  wished  to  hear  from  you  before  I  communi- 
cated my  intended  Address  to  the  Conferences,  but  was  disappointed. 
The  expected  letter  came  safe  to  hand  at  our  Conference  in  Lebanon,  Ohio. 
I  was  much  encouraged  to  find  your  views  of  the  course  so  perfectly  ac- 
cordant with  my  own. 

The  Address  has  taken  its  course  through  the  Ohio  and  Kentucky  Con- 
ferences. The  result  is  the  same,  which  is  as  follows:  After  the  resolutions 
passed  in  General  Conference  are  correctly  stated,  the  Kentucky  Confer- 
ence says:  "The  above  resolutions  are,  in  our  judgment,  an  infringement 
on  the  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  therefore  can- 
not be  carried  into  effect  by  our  representatives  without  first  obtaining  the 
consent  of  the  Annual  Conferences;  and  whereas  these  resolutions  were 
first  adopted  and  then  suspended  by  the  General  Conference  of  1820,  and 
our  senior  bishop  advises  the  Annual  Conferences  to  take  such  measures 
as  may  give  the  above  resolutions  the  force  and  sanction  of  Rules  in  our 
Discipline,  the  other  bishops  approving  the  proposed  change  on  our  govern- 
ment; 

"Resolved,  therefore,  by  the  Kentucky  Annual  Conference  held  in  Lexington 
September  18, 1 821 ,  That  we  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  above  stated 
resolutions,  and  that  the  next  ensuing  General  Conference  (so  far  as  it  re- 
spects this  Conference)  are  authorized  to  adopt  them,  provided  it  be  done 


462  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

by  two-thirds  of  the  General  Conference,  as  stated  in  the  sixth  article  of  our 
constitution." 

Your  statement  of  affairs  at  the  New  York  Conference  gave  both  pleas- 
ure and  pain.  I  am  glad  things  are  no  worse.  The  African  Conference, 
as  it  affects  the  episcopacy,  is  mortifying.  I  have  invited  information  from 
my  colleague  on  that  subject,  but  received  nothing  in  point. 

I  received  $100  inclosed  in  your  last,  appropriated  by  the  Committee, 
and  Brother  Ruter  informed  me  of  $40  in  the  hands  of  the  Book  Agent  sub- 
ject to  my  order.  I  did  not  expect  the  $100  would  have  been  forwarded 
without  my  order,  nor  did  I  intend  to  draw  for  it  until  necessity  dictated 
the  measure.  As  it  was  sent  on  without  an  order,  I  instructed  Brother 
Ruter  to  let  the  $40  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Agents;  but  such  was  the 
poverty  of  this  Conference  that  I  drew  the  $40  and  gave  it  to  the  poor  and 
loaned  the  $100  to  a  needy  brother.  • 

The  missionary  business  in  the  Ohio  Conference  promises  a  reward  for 
our  labor  and  expense.  We  have  sent  on  a  missionary  family  to  carry  the 
school  into  effective  operation. 

In  this  Conference  we  have  had  our  troubles.  One  was  expelled,  and 
we  indulged  a  hope  that  their  troubles  were  over,  but  in  this  we  were  dis- 
appointed. There  are  two  appeals  to  the  General  Conference  offered;  yet 
the  Lord  blesses,  and  we  are  prospering.  I  have  paid  very  little  attention 
to  the  business  of  the  Conferences,  yet  beloved  self  whispers  consequence 
to  that  little. 

Such  is  the  effect  of  labor,  bodily  or  mental,  on  my  feeble  frame,  con- 
nected with  a  variety  of  circumstances,  that  I  am  now  meditating  the  aban- 
doning of  my  intention  to  pursue  the  Conferences  on  through  the  South  as 
far  to  the  North  as  I  should  be  able,  and  of  taking  up  winter  quarters  in 
the  West  after  the  Tennessee  Conference.  Should  be  glad  to  hear  from 
you.  About  five  weeks  from  this  time  I  shall  be  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  if  the 
Lord  will. 

I  submitted  to  your  stay  in  the  North  because  you  were  consenting  to 
the  solicitation  of  the  people,  which  were  founded  on  necessity  in  behalf 
of  the  Church  at  that  time.  It  is  still  my  opinion  that  you  should  come 
farther  to  the  South.  If  you  can  send  a  letter  time  enough  to  meet  me  in 
Nashville,  let  me  know  your  mind  on  this  subject. 

Yours  in  love,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

P.  S. — Bishops  George  and  Roberts  were  at  this  and  the  Ohio  Confer- 
ence. They  are  in  good  health.  I  understand  the  former  is  to  go  to  the 
Mississippi  Conference,  the  latter  to  attend  the  others,  meet  at  the  South 
Carolina  Conference,  and  go  to  the  North  together.  W.  McK. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  LIBERALITY 

THE  letter  below  evinces  the  same  spirit  exhibited  in  the 
foregoing  and  in  the  whole  life  of  Bishop  McKendree.  He  es- 
timated money  by  the  good  it  could  be  made  to  accomplish  and 
exercised  a  strict  economy  over  his  personal  expenditures,  that 
out  of  his  pittance  of  a  salary  he  might  have  somethng  left  to 
be  used  for  the  cause  of  God  and  the  relief  of  the  poor.  He  had 
long  since  given  himself  to  this  work  and  had  worn  himself  out 
in  it.  He  had  deliberately  chosen  to  make  all  his  investments 
in  heaven,  and  delighted  to  "lend  to  the  Lord "  by  giving  to  the 
poor.  He  was  always  giving,  and  no  one  knows  how  much  or 
how  often  he  did  so,  as  he  generally  attempted  not  to  let  his  left 
hand  know  what  his  right  hand  did. 

The  copy  is  before  us  from  his  own  pen: 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Adwcvte  and  Journal. 

Sir:  In  one  of  your  numbers  we  have  a  proposition  from  an  old  Method- 
ist to  give  $100  to  aid  our  missionary  funds,  provided  you  can  procure 
ninety  that  will  do  likewise.  One  of  a  later  date,  by  way  of  amendment, 
offers  $100  unconditionally.  My  annual  allowance  for  support  as  a  travel- 
ing preacher  is  $100  and  my  traveling  expenses.  The  success  of  our  mis- 
sionary efforts  is  such  a  manifestation  of  divine  approbation  and  of  our 
call  to  that  work  as  to  induce  me  to  offer  one  year's  allowance  toward  the 
support  of  the  cause  of  missions.  The  name  of  the  subscriber  is  withheld, 
but  with  the  money  subscribed  will  be  advanced  in  due  time. 

Yours  respectfully,  AN  OLD  TRAVELING  PREACHER. 

KENTUCKY,  March  31, 1828. 


BISHOP  ASBURY'S  PAPERS  BEQUEATHED  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE  AND  DANIEL  HITT 

FROM  the  following  letter  to  Bishop  McKendree,  it  seems 
that  Bishop  Asbury  left  a  considerable  collection  of  documents 
in  the  hands  of  Mr.  F.  Hollingsworth,  of  Baltimore,  which,  in 
his  will,  he  directed  should  be  given  over  to  Bishop  McKendree, 
or  Daniel  Hitt  and  Henry  Boehm,  if  the  Church  should  publish 
his  Journal ;  and  as  his  Journal  has  been  published,  it  is  probable 
they  were  placed  in  his  hands.  No  mention  of  the  fact,  how- 
ever, appears  in  any  of  his  papers. 

BALTIMORE,  August  20,  1827. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Mrs.  Hollingsworth,  the  widow  of  the  late  Francis 
Hollingsworth,  has  in  her  possession  a  number  of  letters  and  documents  of 
the  late  Bishop  Asbury;  and  several  of  our  preachers  and  members  having 
expressed  a  wish  to  peruse  them,  she  was  doubtful  of  the  propriety  of 
granting  this  privilege  to  any  person  without  your  consent,  inasmuch  as 
the  will  of  the  Bishop,  under  date  July,  1814,  makes  a  conditional  bequest 
of  these  letters  and  documents,  which  in  substance  is  as  follows: 

"Should  the  Conference  think  proper  to  publish  my  Journal,  in  that 
case  I  wish  my  Manuscript  Journal  and  papers  relating  to  the  Church 
given  to  Bishop  McKendree,  or  Daniel  Hitt  and  Henry  Boehm;  but  should 
the  Conference  not  publish  my  Journal  I  hereby  bequeath  all  my  manu- 
scripts and  papers,  both  public  and  private,  to  Francis  Hollingsworth, 
with  a  particular  request  that  all  private  papers  not  relating  to  the  Church 
may  be  by  him  destroyed." 

I  know  of  no  will  of  late  date  in  relation  to  these  papers;  should  there  be 
none,  the  papers,  letters,  etc.,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Hollingsworth, 
are  subject  to  your  direction  (except  the  private  papers,  should  there  be 
any).  •  Some  of  our  brethren  here  think  it  desirable  to  ascertain  if  there  are 
some  documents  remaining  not  published  among  the  Bishop's  papers 
which  might  be  of  service  to  the  Church  under  her  present  agitated  situa- 
tion. Their  object  is  to  collect  all  the  information  that  can  be  obtained  to 
sustain  the  character  of  Bishop  Asbury,  as  also  the  character  of  our  itinerant 
ministers,  which  lie  bleeding  under  the  pen  of  the  author  of  "  The  History 
and  Mystery  of  Methodist  Episcopacy."  It  is  therefore  wished  that  you 
should  express  your  desire  in  relation  to  these  documents.  Would  it  not 
be  as  well  to  let  the  original  documents  remain  where  they  are,  and  if  it 
be  necessary,  appoint  a  committee  of  two  or  three  persons  in  this  place  to 
take  duplicates  of  such  papers  as  may  appear  to  be  of  use?  and  when  you 
visit  this  place  again,  you  will  then  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  them  all 
together.  Mrs.  Hollingsworth,  I  believe,  has  determined  to  let  no  person 
see  them  without  your  approbation.  The  brethren  who  particularly  wished 
to  see  those  papers  are  the  Revs.  Brothers  Hanson,  Waugh,  and  Yearley. 

Waiting  the  expression  of  your  sentiments  and  wishes  on  the  above, 

I  remain  yours  with  respect  and  esteem,       CHARLES  A.  WARFIELD. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE  TO  DR.  SARGENT 

DR.  THOMAS  SARGENT,  of  Philadelphia,  to  whom  these  letters 
were  written,  was  a  valued  and  devoted  friend  of  the  Bishop. 
His  house  was  his  home  when  in  the  city,  and  he  was  his  physi- 
cian in  sickness  and  his  trusted  adviser  in  Church  affairs.  The 
Bishop  must  have  been  most  heartily  welcomed  and  kindly 
cared  for  by  the  whole  family,  as  is  evident  from  a  large  package 
of  letters  which  breathe  the  most  reverential  regard  on  their 
part  and  the  most  cordial  and  fatherly  affection  on  his  side. 
These  letters,  written  at  different  dates,  in  the  Bishop's  own 
handwriting,  are  two  out  of  many  of  the  same  kind.  We  have 
already  sketched  the  Doctor. 

SUMNER  COUNTY,  TBNN.,  February  4,  1823. 

Beloved  Brother  Sargent:  Two  days  ago,  yours  of  November  2  came  to 
hand.  It  was  as  a  cordial  to  my  heart  and  mind. 

My  health  is  restored  beyond  my  most  sanguine  hope,  for  which  I  de- 
sire to  be  most  devoutly  thankful;  but  the  nerves  remain  in  a  state  of 
great  debility,  so  that  I  can  bear  but  little  mental  exertion,  especially  that 
of  an  affecting  nature;  hence  I  am  not  able  to  bear  the  full  weight  of  our 
charge.  This  conclusion  is  the  result  of  repeated  experiments;  yet  I  can 
do  something,  and  am  willing  to  do  all  I  can.  Could  the  lightest  part  of  the 
business  of  the  Conferences  fall  to  my  lot,  I  could  do  a  great  deal  more 
than  I  do;  but  this  would  be  too  great  a  sacrifice  for  my  deserts.  And  it  is 
so  natural  to  expect  the  elder  to  go  in  front,  that  by  submitting  to  bear  the 
burdens  of  difficult  cases  I  have  brought  on  afflictions  and  had  to  retire  or 
afflict  a  friend  by  refusing  to  undertake  what  I  thought  was  improper. 
Hence  I  had  concluded  to  continue  in  the  West  until  next  fall,  and  then 
go  on;  but  as  the  season  advanced,  I  was  not  quite  so  well  satisfied  and  was 
thinking  of  preparing  for  the  Virginia  Conference.  Your  letter  added  en- 
couragement. I  am  now  preparing,  and  expect,  if  the  Lord  will,  to  set  out 
next  week.  Last  summer  we  lost  a  preacher  in  Washington.  I  was  called 
on  to  supply  his  place,  and,  for  want  of  another,  had  to  give  up  Brother 
Hill.  Since  October  I  have  been  alone;  in  this  way  I  was  about  setting  off 
for  Lynchburg,  Va.,  but  Providence  has  provided  a  pious  local  preacher 
who  is  going  on  business  and  is  more  than  willing  to  go  with  me. 

I  am  deeply  interested  in  Brother  Summerfield's  welfare.  I  hope  the 
Lord  will  preserve  and  return  him  to  us.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  meet  him 
in  Baltimore.  In  my  acquaintance  with  him  nothing  appeared  that  would 
militate  against  your  good  opinion  of  him.  He  certainly  ranks  amongst 
the  most  excellent. 

I  should  be  highly  gratified  to  see  the  British  Conference  in  session,  with 
30 


466  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Mr.  Wesley  at  their  head,  and  join  with  you  in  saying,  "I  hope  it  will  b« 
the  old  Doctor"  that  attends  our  General  Conference. 

I  am  glad  that  your  son  Thomas  has  hoisted  anchor  and  is  on  the  way 
with  a  favorable  wind.  It  only  remains  for  him  to  "  be  faithful  until  death  " 
to  come  to  anchor,  richly  laden,  in  the  harbor  of  eternal  repose. 

During  the  winter  I  have  visited  some  of  the  Churches  through  the 
south  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  West  Tennessee,  and  intended  seeing 
North  Alabama,  but  the  season  prevented.  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of 
rain,  high  water,  and  spells  of  hard  freezing  weather,  but  very  little  snow. 
At  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  the  mercury  in  Pool's  thermometer  stood 
at  9  degrees,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  at  about  20  degrees.  Just  before  this  spell 
of  cold  weather  set  in,  I  returned,  and  am  now  comfortably  lodged  with 
my  brother-in-law  in  a  cabin  about  sixteen  or  eighteen  feet  square,  with  a 
puncheon  floor  and  covered  with  slabs,  but  we  have  a  plenty  of  bacon  and 
beef  and  chickens  and  turkeys,  cabbage,  Irish  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  milk 
and  butter.  We  have  a  little  tea  and  coffee,  with  sugar  extracted  from  the 
trees  in  the  woods;  corn  and  fodder  for  my  horse  and  a  good  bed  to  lie  on. 
All  this  with  peace  and  harmony  and  Jesus  besides!  And  to  complete  the 
blessing,  I  have  the  rheumatism  in  my  head  and  teeth.  Now,  it  is  given 
to  us  not  only  to  believe  in  Jesus,  but  to  suffer  for  his  sake,  who  works  all 
things  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him.  I  must  be  very  thankful 
for  all  those  blessings  or  be  guilty  of  deep  ingratitude. 

Dear  Doctor,  with  all  my  failings  and  infirmities,  which  are  many,  I 
am  striving  to  improve  the  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence  that 
hangs  over  me  for  heaven  and  eternal  happiness.  There  I  hope  joyfully  to 
meet  you,  with  your  kind  companion  and  lovely  children.  The  Lord  bless 
you  and  them  with  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings!  My  respects  to  my 
kind  and  good  friends,  especially  our  beloved  Thomas  Burch. 

Yours  respectfully,  W.  MCKENDREE. 

P.  S. — I  undesignedly  omitted  assuring  you  that  your  good  opinion  is 
most  cordially  reciprocated.  I  not  only  esteem,  but  love  you.  My  affec- 
tion commenced  with  my  acquaintance  and  remains  undiminished.  Dif- 
ferences in  opinion  on  nonessentials  do  not  produce  a  change  in  Christian 
affection.  Sincerity  and  candor  will  not  only  command  respect,  but  in- 
crease love  when  difference  of  opinion  is  conducted  with  due  deference  to 
each  other  while  Christian  feelings  justly  recoil  from  a  different  course. 

W.  McK. 

The  following  note  was  written  to  Dr.  Sargent  by  the  Bishop 
during  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  of  1828: 

PITTSBURGH,  May  23, 1828. 

Dear  Friend  and  Brother:  At  the  commencement  of  the  Conference,  I 
received  your  kind  letter  and  considered  its  contents.  Your  friendship 
and  correspondence  have  been,  and  still  are,  a  subject  of  encouragement, 
comfort,  and  support  to  me.  I  rejoice  to  have  a  place  among  your  friends 
and  shall  endeavor  ever  to  deserve  it.  The  business  of  this  Conference  has 


Appendix  467 

been  conducted  with  more  than  ordinary  good  feeling,  yet  not  without, 
some  perturbation.  I  say  nothing  of  business;  you  will  have  it  from  your 
representatives.  My  health  is  pretty  good.  I  have  enjoyed  peace  and 
tranquillity  of  mind  through  the  Conference  and  received  more  friendly 
visits  than  on  some  former  occasions.  I  intend  to  visit  you  as  soon  as 
Divine  Providence  permits.  Conference  is  now  sitting,  pressing  to  a  close 
of  the  business.  My  love  to  Sister  Sargent  and  the  children. 

Yours  in  much  love,  W.  McKENDREE. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  UNION  OF 
THE  PRESBYTERIANS  AND  METHODISTS  IN  1805— 
THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND  PRESBYTE- 
RIANS 

As  Bishop  McKendree  was  the  presiding  elder  on  the 
Cumberland  District  during  the  time  the  events  occurred  nar- 
rated by  him  in  the  statement  below  it  may  be  interesting  to 
give  it  in  his  own  words. 

The  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church  arose  during  the  great 
religious  revival  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  in  1801-03,  al- 
though it  was  not  organized  as  a  distinct  and  separate  Church 
until  1810.  They  rejected  the  doctrine  of  eternal  and  uncondi- 
tional election  and  reprobation  as  taught  in  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith.  They  claim  to  occupy  middle  ground  be- 
tween Calvinism  and  Arminianism  and  adopted  a  modified  sys- 
tem of  an  itinerant  ministry.  They  have  been  earnest  and  zeal- 
ous laborers  and  have  done  great  good  in  the  South  and  West. 
To  what  extent  they  have  had  similar  success  in  the  other  sec- 
tions of  the  country,  the  writer  knows  not.  His  own  observa- 
tions, and  his  personal  intercourse  with  individual  ministers 
and  members  of  the  Church,  have  impressed  him  very  strong- 
ly and  favorably. 

In  1800,  a  revival  of  religion  was  making  considerable  progress,  which 
it  seems  commenced  the  year  before,  of  which  the  Rev.  John  McGee  has 
published  some  account. 

At  that  time  the  charge  of  the  Methodist  Circuit  was  committed  to  a 
preacher  of  moderate  talents,  but  without  the  spirit  of  enterprise  to  con- 
duct the  Church  of  Christ  under  such  circumstances.  He  was  better  dis- 
posed to  obey  and  labor  than  to  counsel  and  lead.  At  the  same  time  there 
were  several  pious  and  zealous  Presbyterian  ministers,  who  united  to  enter 
into  and  carry  on  the  work.  They  had  frequent  appointments  of  a  popu- 
lar character,  so  arranged  as  for  several  to  be  at  each  appointment. 

The  Methodist  preacher  married  and  suffered  his  pecuniary  concerns 
to  divert  his  attention  from  his  ministerial  charge.  The  circuit  was  neg- 
lected. But  he  attended  the  Presbyterian  appointments  and  labored 
zealously  and  successfully.  The  local  preachers  followed  his  example,  and 
the  regular  circuit  preaching  was  measurably  lost  in  three  or  four  days' 
meeting  for  the  sacramental  meetings  and  were  very  popular. 

The  Presbyterian  ministers  were  respectful  for  learning  and  were  hon- 
ored members  of  society  for  their  services  as  teachers  and  preachers.  They 
ranked  with  the  respectable  part  of  society. 

The  Methodists  were  reverenced  and  honored  for  their  piety  and  use- 


Appendix  469 

fulness  as  preachers;  so  much  so,  that  whatever  liberties  might  be  taken 
on  other  occasions,  when  affliction  made  it  necessary  to  call  in  praying 
people,  the  Methodists  were  frequently  selected  and  their  counsel  on  spir- 
itual matters  sought. 

When  these  preachers  united  in  public  worship,  their  influence  on  their 
respective  adherents  drew  people  of  different  persuasions  together  in 
great  numbers. 

But  the  preachers  were  not  of  one  mind.  The  Presbyterians  were  Cal- 
vinists;  the  Methodists,  Arminians;  and  they  had  been  publicly  at  issue 
on  these  doctrines.  In  this  contest  the  Methodists'  sentiments  had  im- 
perceptibly gained  the  ascendency  over  the  public  mind.  If  any  attended 
on  those  occasions  in  expectation  of  exhibitions  on  controverted  points, 
they  were  disappointed.  Many,  perhaps  the  generality  of  the  people, 
heard  them  as  men  of  the  same  views  of  the  sacred  doctrines. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  preachers  were  enabled  to  preach  the  word 
with  power,  and  it  was  attended  with  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Sinners  were  convicted  and  converted;  Christians  were  built  up  in  the 
most  holy  faith;  and  the  hearts  of  the  professors  were  tenderly  united  in 
affection  and  love.  They  cleaved  to  each  other  as  children  of  one  family. 
Class  meetings  and  love  feasts  were  refreshing  seasons.  They  were  attend- 
ed with  divine  influence  and  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Presbyterians  earnestly  requested  the  privilege  of  participating  in 
those  meetings.  The  Methodists  could  not  grant  the  request  without  in- 
fringing on  their  discipline;  but  inclination  prevailed,  and  they  suffered 
loss,  as  a  consequence  of  violating  a  wholesome  regulation.  The  Presby- 
terians resigned  nothing,  but  were  great  gainers. 

Class  meetings  and  love  feasts  are  calculated  and  designed  to  instruct 
and  lead  the  seeker  of  religion  to  the  knowledge  of  sins  forgiven  and  his 
acceptance  with  God  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  (Rom.  viii.  1,  2, 14-16; 
John  v.  24;  1  John  iii.  14);  and  to  conduct  the  young  converts,  the  babes 
in  Christ,  up  to  Christian  perfection,  to  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.  (Heb.  v.  12-14;  Prov,  iv.  18;  Heb.  xii.  14.) 

Such  meetings  are  truly  desirable  to  Christians  while  they  enjoy  the 
comforts  of  religion  and  are  pressing  "toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  But  when  faith  fails,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  the  spiritual  exercises  of  those  meetings  become  disagreeable  in  a  pro- 
portional degree. 

The  Presbyterian  discipline  knows  nothing  of  such  meetings,  nor  does 
it  require  its  members  to  pass  such  strict  examinations  on  the  progress  of 
religion. 

Those  among  them  that  desired  it  enjoyed  those  meetings  among  the 
Methodists  by  courtesy  and  withdrew  or  neglected  them,  as  they  pleased. 
As  the  revival  subsided,  the  zeal  for  meetings  and  spiritual  exercise  cooled 
off.  This  was  the  case  among  the  members  of  both  Churches.  This  called 
for  a  prudent  exercise  of  discipline;  but  Methodist  discipline  had  no  control 
over  Presbyterians;  they  neglected  class  meetings  with  impunity.  The 
members  of  the  Methodist  Church  whose  zeal  was  paralyzed  were  inclined 


470  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

to  neglect  their  class  meetings  after  the  example  of  their  Presbyterian 
friends. 

The  preachers  now  felt  the  difficulty  of  exercising  discipline  to  profit; 
regretted  that  it  was  ever  departed  from;  but  under  existing  circumstances 
thought  it  prudent  not  to  press  their  members  to  duty  with  rigor,  but  to 
apply  their  crippled  discipline  to  the  best  purpose  and  hope  for  better  times. 

This  state  of  things  continued,  with  some  modifications,  until  the  close 
of  the  Conference  year  of  1805.  The  presiding  elder  of  the  Cumberland 
District  intending  to  locate  at  the  approaching  Conference,  there  was  some 
solicitude  felt  as  to  the  course  his  successor  would  take  as  to  the  existing 
union.  To  guard  against  possible  events,  the  Presbyterian  minister  and 
the  presiding  elder  appointed  a  union  meeting,  so-called,  for  the  purpose 
of  initiating  the  next  presiding  elder  into  the  mysteries  of  the  union.  A 
large  congregation  of  people  and  a  number  of  preachers  came  together  at 
the  appointed  time.  The  new  presiding  elder  and  a  Presbyterian  minister 
from  Kentucky  attended  the  meeting. 

The  conduct  of  the  ministers  in  Cumberland  in  unitng  with  the  Meth- 
odists had  become  suspicious  in  the  eyes  of  their  brethren  elsewhere,  and  a 
minister  from  Kentucky  was  sent,  it  seems,  to  examine  into  the  matter. 

The  presiding  elder  preached  when  he  was  appointed,  as  other  preachers 
did,  but  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  management  of  the  meeting. 

On  Monday,  the  managers  of  the  meeting  called  all  the  official  members 
and  preachers  of  both  Churches  together  to  consider  the  origin  and  state  of 
the  union  and  the  regulations  necessary  to  perpetuate  it.  After  several 
speeches,  in  which  much  had  been  said  on  the  subject,  the  new  presiding 
elder  was  requested  to  give  his  views;  he  complied,  and  observed  that 
much  had  been  said  against  proselyting;  and  that  to  perpetuate  the  union, 
there  must  be  no  proselyting.  If  by  proselyting,  nothing  more  was  intend- 
ed than  improper  measures  and  personal  influence  used  to  induce  members 
to  leave  their  own  Church  and  join  the  other,  he  had  no  objection  to  it:  for 
in  his  estimation,  such  measures  were  unchristian  and  contemptible.  But 
proselyting,  as  he  understood  the  term,  comprehended  much  more — it 
means  the  conversion  of  a  sinner  from  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan  to  the 
living  God;  from  darkness  to  light;  from  erroneous  opinions  relative  to  re- 
ligious doctrines,  to  truth.  For  this  purpose  it  is  consistent  with  Chris- 
tian civility  and  religion  to  use  legitimate  arguments  drawn  from  the 
Scriptures,  reason,  and  experience.  If  this  course  is  pursued  with  due  de- 
ference to  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  others,  no  cause  of  offense  is  given, 
nor  should  offense  be  taken.  That  wise  and  pious  men  have  different  views 
of  the  doctrines  of  revelation  is  a  fact;  and  it  is  proper  for  them,  as  honest 
men,  to  labor  to  convert  their  fellow  men  to  receive  what  they  believe  to 
be  the  truth.  They  have  opposite  views  of  the  truth,  and  one  may  be  as 
pious  and  sincere  as  the  other;  therefore  let  them  esteem  each  other  as  Chris- 
tians, recommend  their  own  views  with  Christian  respect  to  the  senti- 
ments of  others,  and  let  the  people  judge  for  themselves. 

By  the  union  of  which  we  are  speaking,  I  would  understand  two  separate 
and  distinct  Churches,  each  having  a  system  of  doctrine  and  discipline  in 


Appendix  471 

active  operation,  independent  of  each  other;  and,  though  they  differ  in 
point  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  yet,  believing  that  each  is  accepted  and 
blessed  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  they  are  cordially  disposed  to 
live  in  harmony,  peace,  and  love,  and  mutually  encourage  and  assist  each 
other  as  far  as  they  can  consistently  with  their  respective  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  Church  government.  If  his  ideas  of  Christian  union  were  correct, 
he  thought  the  Churches  had  departed  from  correct  principles,  that  the  fel- 
lowship then  existing  among  them  was  not  the  union  but  the  amalgama- 
tion of  the  Churches.  The  Methodist  discipline  is  not  exercised  conform- 
ably to  its  provisions  and  genius.  If  the  Presbyterian  discipline  is  cor- 
rectly attended  to,  I  am  not  acquainted  with  it.  To  depart  from  an  es- 
tablished and  wholesome  discipline  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  union  of 
Churches  is  an  adventurous  and  dangerous  experiment.  It  may  preserve 
the  existing  friendship,  but  its  tendency  is  rather  to  destroy  than  perpetuate 
discipline.  Therefore,  to  establish  a  profitable  union,  let  the  ministers 
preach  the  doctrines  of  their  respective  Churches  simply,  plainly,  and 
clearly;  but  let  it  be  done  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  and  love  and  with  proper 
respect  to  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  others,  and  let  them  mutually 
assist  each  other  according  to  their  respective  disciplines. 

The  elder's  view  of  the  subject  seemed  to  obtain  general  acceptance. 
The  Methodist  discipline  began  to  revive  from  that  time.  But  a  murmur- 
ing was  soon  heard  among  the  Presbyterians  that  things  were  not  right, 
that  the  Methodists  did  not  attend  to  the  principles  of  the  union,  and  their 
preachers  spoke  of  it,  in  several  congregations,  in  a  way  calculated  to  in- 
jure the  Methodist  character. 

In  this  state  of  things,  theMethodists  had  a  camp  meeting  at  E.  Doug- 
lass's, on  the  east  of  the  Cumberland  River.  The  Rev.  W.  McGee,  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  was  at  it,  and  was  appointed  to  preach  on  Sabbath 
at  eleven  o'clock.  In  the  morning  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
attended  to  in  the  meetinghouse.  W.  McGee  absented  himself.  The  elder 
said  nothing  to  him  on  the  subject  until  after  the  sermon;  he  then  took  him 
out  and  requested  his  reason  for  absenting  himself  from  the  Lord's  table. 
He  said  the  Methodists  had  broken  the  union,  and  therefore  he  did  not  com- 
mune. He  named  Miles  Harper  as  the  transgressor,  and  instanced  wherein 
he  had  broken  the  union.  The  elder  wished  to  know  if  he  would  be  satis- 
fied with  such  reparation  or  acknowledgments  as  might  be  dictated,  if 
Harper  had  done  wrong.  He  said  he  would.  The  elder  spoke  to  Harper, 
who  was  willing  and  wished  to  meet  the  charges.  For  this  purpose,  the 
preachers  and  official  members  of  both  Churches  were  requested  to  con- 
vene in  the  meetinghouse  on  Monday  morning.  The  appointment  was 
well  attended.  After  prayer,  the  elder  informed  those  present  of  the  design 
of  the  meeting  and  requested  Mr.  McGee  to  state  the  rules  of  the  union  and 
wherein  they  were  violated.  He  requested  the  elder  to  do  it.  He  did  so, 
by  repeating  the  terms  as  suggested  and  agreed  to  in  the  union  meeting, 
and  appealed  to  Mr.  McGee  and  those  members  that  attended  the  union 
meeting.  His  statements  were  admitted  to  be  correct. 

Soon  after  the  investigation  commenced,  it  appeared  that  for  want  of 


472  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

evidence  it  could  not  be  concluded.  The  meeting  was  therefore  adjourned 
to  the  time  and  place  of  a  quarterly  meeting  which  was  shortly  to  be  com- 
menced, in  a  neighborhood  where  the  witnesses  would  attend.  The  accus- 
er's presence  was  much  desired,  but  his  business  prevented  him  from  at- 
tending. But  he  appointed  his  substitute  and  authorized  him  to  act  in  his 
place.  As  well  as  I  remember,  Presbyterian  elders  sat  with  Methodists  on 
the  trial.  The  charges  and  witnessess  were  deliberately  attended  to,  and 
Harper  was  acquitted. 

The  elder  drew  up  a  statement  of  the  trial  and  proposed  for  the  accuser's 
agent  and  himself  to  sign  it  in  behalf  of  their  Churches,  and  keep  it  as  an 
official  conclusion  of  the  matter.  He  hesitated;  the  elder  therefore  pro- 
posed, as  he  was  going  from  thence  to  a  camp  meeting  at  Fountain  Head, 
where  he  expected  to  see  the  accuser  and  a  number  of  his  brethren,  to  take 
the  papers,  officially  certified,  and  submit  the  whole  to  the  judgment  of  the 
preachers  and  official  members  of  that  meeting.  This  was  a  gratification 
to  the  agent. 

At  the  Fountain  Head  meeting  the  papers  were  presented  to  Harper's 
accuser,  in  the  presence  of  one  or  two  other  preachers  and  several  elders 
of  that  Church,  united  with  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Conference. 
The  paper  was  read,  considered,  and  approved.  The  accuser  professed  to 
be  satisfied.  All  seemed  to  be  pleased. 

The  presiding  elder  was  glad  that  Harper  was  exonerated  and  the  Meth- 
odists found  innocent  and  that  the  accuser  himself  was  satisfied,  but  he  had 
to  acknowledge  that  he  was  not  satisfied,  that  he  was  dissatisfied  with  the 
proceedings  against  Harper  and  with  the  manner  in  which  the  Methodists 
had  been  treated,  and  therefore  he  then  demanded  satisfaction  in  behalf 
of  the  Methodists.  He  then  stated  charges  against  Harper's  accuser  and 
directed  attention  to  cases  wherein  the  Methodists  had  been  publicly 
misrepresented,  to  the  wounding  of  religious  feeling  and  the  injury  of 
character. 

Harper's  accuser  attempted  to  evade  an  examination,  but  the  presiding 
elder  demanded  satisfaction  for  his  injured  brethren.  The  former  accuser, 
now  the  accused,  said  they  had  no  power  to  meet  the  demand,  that  their 
discipline  made  no  provision  for  such  a  case.  He  was  informed  that  the 
Methodist  discipline  knew  as  little  about  them  and  the  union  as  theirs  did; 
but  they  had  entered  a  kind  of  fellowship  called  a  union,  talked  of  rules 
and  regulations  to  perpetuate  the  union,  and  had  charged  the  Methodists 
with  breaking  the  union;  that  the  Methodists  had  met  the  charge,  justified 
their  conduct,  and  given  satisfaction  to  their  accuser,  not  on  any  provision 
of  their  discipline  for  such  a  case,  but  upon  principles  of  propriety  and  so- 
cial obligation;  and  after  all  this,  they  are  informed  there  is  no  redress  for 
them.  The  presiding  elder  was  not  disposed  to  admit  such  apologies.  Sat- 
isfaction for  his  injured  brethren  he  must  have  or  resort  to  some  other 
mode  of  defense.  He  was  not  disposed  to  be  severely  just,  but  would  take 
any  acknowledgment  that  was  sufficient  to  secure  the  injured  character 
of  his  brethren. 

A  respectable  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  said  the  demand  was 


Appendix  473 

reasonable  and  ought  to  be  complied  with.  The  accused  begged  that  it 
should  be  deferred  till  after  their  Presbytery,  which  was  at  hand.  The 
presiding  elder  consented  to  the  suspension  of  the  trial,  on  condition  that 
they  should  meet  him  at  a  camp  meeting  of  his,  in  Cage's  Bend,  immediate- 
ly after  their  Presbytery,  but  that  means  should  be  used  to  redress  the 
injury  already  inflicted  on  the  Methodists. 

The  Presbyterian  ministers  did  not  correct  the  misrepresentations  they 
had  publicly  made.  He  therefore  wrote  to  a  preacher  an  account  of  the 
state  of  things,  with  direction  to  read  it  in  those  congregations  wherein 
the  Presbyterian  preacher  had  made  the  subject  public.  The  preacher 
was  not  to  comment  on  the  communication  or  explain  it,  but  to  let  the 
author  of  the  letter  and  him  who  first  made  the  subject  public  settle  any 
differences  that  might  arise. 

No  return  was  made  to  the  presiding  elder  at  the  camp  meeting  in  Cage's 
Bend.  The  charges  officially  brought  by  him  against  the  Presbyterian 
preachers  of  the  union  were  never  settled.  They  remained  under  censure. 
The  affair  was  left  to  suffer  or  sleep  or  die.  At  the  interviews  relative  to 
the  charges  against  Mr.  Harper,  the  terms  and  regulations  of  the  union,  as 
stated  at  the  union  meeting,  were  repeated  and  admitted.  Thus  many 
things  were  brought  to  light,  knowledge  increased,  Methodist  discipline 
revived,  and  numbers  were  greatly  increased. 

What  was  the  proper  signification  of  the  term  "Cumberland  Presby- 
terian," as  it  was  used  in  those  days,  the  writer  is  not  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  regulations  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  to  say;  but  he 
thinks  it  was  applied  to  a  part,  perhaps  a  Presbytery,  designated  the  "  Cum- 
berland Presbytery"  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  it  existed  at  that  day. 
Of  this  body  there  were  four  ministers  who  were  distinguished  for  piety, 
zeal,  and  usefulness:  Messrs.  McGee  (whose  Brother  John  was  a  very 
zealous,  useful  Methodist  preacher — these  brothers  labored  much  together, 
with  great  success),  McGready,  Hodge,  and  Rankin.  These  four  labored 
harmoniously  and  successfully.  They  engaged  the  Methodist  ministers 
in  their  meetings  to  a  considerable  extent.  They  advocated  union  with 
the  Methodists  and  preached  so  much  like  them  and  spoke  so  freely 
against  Calvin's  notion  of  decrees  and  in  favor  of  salvation  for  all  men 
that  many  supposed  they  had  renounced  their  old  system  of  doctrines. 
These  were  prominent,  popular  characters,  and  probably  many  restricted 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  to  these  four  men. 

Of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  the  Church  became  suspicious, 
whether  of  all  the  ministers  of  that  body  or  part  of  them,  or  for  what  or  to 
what  extent  their  conduct  was  censured,  the  writer  does  not  know.  It  was 
reported  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians  did  not  attend  to  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Church;  that  in  the  examination  of  candidates  for  the  ministry 
they  did  not  sufficiently  attend  to  the  candidate's  faith  in  their  dostrines 
and  licensed  men  who  did  not  possess  the  literary  qualifications  required 
by  the  discipline.  How  this  may  be,  the  writer  does  not  know.  But  it  is 
certain  that  eventually  a  number  of  the  preachers  of  the  Cumberland  de- 


474  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

partment  left  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  constituted  a  separate  and  dis- 
tinct community.    I  understand  they  have  been  useful  and  successful. 

Of  the  four  ministers  already  mentioned  as  leading  characters  of  that 
part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  with  which  the  Methodists  of  the  Cum- 
berland Circuit  formed  a  union,  I  learned  that  the  first  named  joined  him- 
self to  the  seceders  who  formed  a  Church  in  the  Cumberland  District  for 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  second  and  third,  after  saying  many  things, 
and  some  of  them  very  hard,  against  their  old  Confession  of  Faith,  adjusted 
matters  with  the  Church  and  received  the  Confession  of  Faith.  And  the 
fourth,  or  last  named,  joined  the  Shaking  Quakers.  Thus  the  body  of 
ministers  with  whom  the  Methodists  were  in  union  has  become  extinct. 
There  is  not  a  vestige  of  it  in  their  existing  form  extant. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  ESSAYS  ON   OUR   CHURCH 
GOVERNMENT 

AMONG  the  numerous  papers  of  Bishop  McKendree  some  are 
sermons,  theological  criticisms,  and  essays  upon  doctrinal, 
metaphysical,  and  literary  subjects;  but  while  most  of  them  are 
unfinished,  he  prepared  others  upon  Church  government,  es- 
pecially our  own,  with  considerable  care  and  left  them  neatly 
and  carefully  put  up.  The  general  views  presented  in  them  are 
in  part  set  forth  in  his  circular  addresses  and  letters,  but  in 
many  cases  they  are  so  concisely  and  clearly  stated  in  these  brief 
essays  that  it  is  thought  proper  to  give  a  few  of  them  a  perma- 
nent form.  We  therefore  present  the  following  pieces,  carefully 
written  by  him.  The  future  historiographer  of  the  Church  and 
the  student  of  our  ecclesiastical  history  may  hereafter  be  glad 
to  find  the  views  entertained  by  the  wise  and  venerable  man 
whose  history  reaches  from  the  organization  of  our  Church  to 
1835,  and  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  study  and  administra- 
tion of  our  economy;  and  yet,  as  laws  and  their  construction,  as 
well  as  usages  and  opinions,  like  everything  else  of  human  origin, 
are  liable  to  be  changed  and  modified  by  time  and  taste,  so, 
notwithstanding  our  high  respect  for  the  Bishop  and  our 
agreement  with  him  in  many  of  his  views,  we  do  not  consider 
ourselves  bound  to  indorse  all  his  opinions  and  inferences  as  set 
forth;  in  the  main,  however,  we  assent  to  them. 

DEFENSE  OF  CONSTITUTIONAL  EPISCOPACY. 

A  general  superintendency  is  essentially  necessary  to  perpetuate  itin- 
erancy; therefore  no. judicious  friend  to  the  traveling  plan  will  transfer 
the. power  of  choosing  presiding  elders  and  stationing  the  preachers  from 
the  bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences,  because  in  this  the  power  of  over- 
sight principally  consists.  Take  this  prerogative  from  the  superintend- 
ents, and  there  will  remain  with  them  no  power  by  which  they  can  oversee 
the  work  or  officially  manage  the  administration,  and  therefore  the  Con- 
ference must  in  justice  release  them  from  their  responsibilities  as  bishops. 
This  being  done,  the  office  of  general  superintendent  must  cease  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  would  be  no  longer  under  the  government  of 
bishops. 

But  such  a  change  in  the  government  would  deprive  the  General  Con- 
ference of  an  important,  perhaps  an  essential,  part  of  their  authority  and 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  enforce  and  carry  our  system  of  rules  into  effect. 
This  will  appear  from  the  peculiar  relation  between  the  bishop  and  Con- 


476  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ference,  or  the  connection  between  making  our  rules  and  enforcing  them. 
The  superintendents  are  chosen  by  the  General  Conference,  are  the  re- 
positories of  executive  power,  and  are  held  responsible  as  overseers  of  the 
whole  charge.  By  calling  upon  them,  the  administration  in  every  part  of 
the  work  may  be  brought  under  the  inspection  and  control  of  the  General 
Conference. 

But  if  the  power  of  superintending  the  work  were  taken  from  the  bishops, 
they  must  be  released  from  the  responsibility;  and  if  they  should  be  re- 
leased, there  would  be  no  person  or  persons  accountable  to  the  General 
Conference  for  the  administration;  consequently  the  connection  between 
making  rules  and  enforcing  them  would  be  dissolved.  The  legislative  body 
would  then  have  no  control  over  the  executive,  no  power  to  enforce  their 
rules  or  laws. 

The  several  Annual  Conferences  are  under  the  control  of  general  rules, 
enforced  by  responsible  superintendents;  so  that  if  a  preacher  should  de- 
part from  the  discipline  or  doctrine  of  the  Church,  it  is  the  bishop's  duty 
to  correct,  remove  from  office,  or  bring  him  to  trial  according  to  discipline. 

Should  an  Annual  Conference  dissent  from  the  doctrine  or  discipline  of 
the  Church,  the  Bishop  should  enter  his  protest  and  bring  the  case  before 
the  ensuing  General  Conference.  Should  the  superintendent  join  with  a 
Conference  in  such  a  departure,  the  next  General  Conference  will  call  him 
to  account  for  it;  and  by  this  medium  the  General  Conference  takes  cog- 
nizance of  the  acts  of  the  Annual  Conferences;  so  that  while  the  super- 
intendents serve  as  a  center  of  union  and  harmony  among  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences, they — i.  e.,  the  Annual  Conferences — become  responsible  to  and 
are  brought  under  the  inspection  and  control  of  the  General  Conference. 

Once  more:  The  general  superintendents  serve  as  watchmen  to  guard 
the  Annual  Conferences  against  attacks  on  their  constitutional  rights. 

The  delegated  Conference  is  composed  of  two  parts:  the  representatives 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  and  the  bishops.  These  are  equally  supported 
by  the  preachers  collectively,  who  have  secured  to  themselves  in  this  ca- 
pacity the  right  of  deciding  on  any  alteration  of  the  constitution;  therefore 
that  instrument  cannot  be  altered  or  changed  by  the  General  Conference 
unless  they  first  obtain  the  consent  of  the  Annual -Conferences.  Now  if 
the  representatives  should  make  a  premature  attack  on  the  constitution, 
it  becomes  the  superintendent's  duty,  arising  out  of  his  relation  to  the 
preachers  collectively,  to  arrest  the  procedure  on  constitutional  principles, 
and  thus,  and  on  that  ground,  the  subject  may  come  before  the  Annual 
Conferences,  whose  right  it  is  to  judge  in  all  constitutional  cases.  Were  it 
not  for  this  check,  which  brings  all  disputes  respecting  constitutional 
rights  to  a  uniform  and  safe  conclusion,  the  Church  might  be  involved  in 
difficulties  of  the  most  serious  nature.  The  General  Conference  might 
pass  a  rule  to  which  some  Conferences  might  submit  and  others  pronounce 
unconstitutional,  and  thereby  destroy  its  force.  The  end  is  left  to  con- 
jecture. 

But  if  the  executive  power  were  transferred  from  the  bishops  to  the 
Annual  Conferences,  as  it  would  be  if  they  were  authorized  to  elect  pre- 


Appendix  477 

siding  elders,  etc.,  and  the  bishops  were  consequently  released  from  their 
responsibility  to  the  General  Conference,  the  Annual  Conferences  would 
thereby  become  independent  of  each  other,  of  the  bishops  (except  for  ordi- 
nation) ,  and  of  the  General  Conference.  Being  invested  with  executive  au- 
thority and  amendable  to  no  superior,  consequently  under  no  jurisdicton, 
they  might  neglect  or  reject  the  rules  formed  by  the  General  Conference 
with  impunity;  and  for  the  Conferences  in  such  a  situation  to  dissolve  the 
bonds  of  fellowship  and  union  by  introducing  different  administrations  is 
among  possible  events. 

In  the  event  of  such  a  change  in  the  government,  the  general  superin- 
tendents might  patiently  endure  the  toil  of  annual  visits  to  ordain  preach- 
ers, hear  complaints,  feel  the  distress  of  the  discontented,  and  preside  in 
the  Conferences  without  power  to  redress  grievances  or  manage  the  busi- 
ness; or  they  might  turn  their  attention  to  more  comfortable  and  useful 
situations;  and  the  General  Conference  may  have  the  honor  of  assembling 
together  and  forming  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the 
Church  and  the  mortification  of  seeing  those  rules  neglected  or  rejected 
and  lament  their  loss  of  ppwer  to  enforce  their  wholesome  regulations  and 
thereby  save  the  Church. 

ITINERANCY — ITS  SUCCESS — STATISTICS. 

The  itinerant  plan  of  preaching  the  gospel,  which  was  pursued  by  the 
apostles  and  their  immediate  successors,  is  undoubtedly  better  calculated 
to  supply  the  poor  with  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  than  any  other,  and, 
indeed,  is  the  only  plan  adapted  to  the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel.  But 
this  apostolic  system  was  soon  exchanged  for  a  local  plan,  which  is  better 
adapted  to  human  inclinations  and  temporal  interests.  In  process  of  time, 
when  experimental  religion  was  extremely  low  and  almost  discarded,  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  call  forth  that  venerable  man,  John  Welsey,  and 
through  his  instrumentality  to  revive  both  religion  and  the  itinerant  plan 
of  preaching  the  gospel.  By  this  means  a  general  revival  of  experimental 
religion  had  been  carried  far  and  wide. 

But  it  will  appear  to  a  careful  observer  of  our  Annual  Minutes,  com- 
pared with  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  in  Europe  and  America, 
that  our  founder  and  fathers  did  not  intend  to  organize  a  separate  Church. 
They  had  no  prearranged  system  of  governemnt;  so  far  from  it,  they  were 
frequently  opposed  to  those  measures  which  were  providentially  suggested 
as  proper  expedients  for  particular  occasions  and  which  terminated  in  a 
constitution  and  system  of  Church  government. 

These  things  considered,  it  would  seem  nothing  short  of  an  overruling 
Providence  could  have  produced  so  excellent  an  imitation  of  the  apostolic 
plan. 

Our  fathers  set  out  with  this  profession:  "We  believe  that  God's  design 
in  raising  up  the  preachers  called  Methodists  in  America  was  to  reform  the 
continent  and  spread  scriptural  holiness  over  these  lands."  Influenced 
by  this  persuasion,  they  went  forth  proclaiming  salvation  through  the 
merits  of  Christ  by  faith  to  all  people.  Increasing  numbers  crying,  "  What 


478  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

shall  we  do?"  induced  them  to  resort  to  churchyards,  market  houses, 
streets,  the  woods,  for  houses  could  not  contain  the  thousands  that  flocked 
together  to  hear  the  word  of  life.  Rules  and  regulations  were  introduced 
to  meet  the  necessities  of  an  astonishing  increase  of  members  and  a  rapid 
extension  of  the  field  of  ministerial  labors. 

In  1784,  the  United  Societies  in  America,  contrary  to  the  original  in- 
tention of  our  founder  and  fathers,  were  formed  into  an  independent  Epis- 
copal Church;  and  the  rules  which,  from  time,  had  been  introduced  for  the 
benefit  of  the  society  were  incorporated  into  the  system  of  government. 

When  the  socities  were  formed  into  a  Church,  there  were  46  circuits,  83 
traveling  preachers,  and  14,988  members.  From  that  time  the  work  of  the 
Lord  far  exceeded  any  former  years;  so  much  so,  that  in  1792,  there  were 
18  districts,  137  circuits  and  stations,  226  preachers,  and  65,980  members. 
But  the  increase  of  numbers  was  attended  with  additional  difficulties.  A 
few  years'  experience  taught  the  necessity  of  revising  and  perfecting  the 
system  of  rules.  For  this  purpose  a  General  Conference  was  called,  and 
met  according  to  appointment,  November  1,  1792,  and  was  continued  by 
adjournments,  once  in  four  years,  until  May  6,  1-808,  which  was  the  last 
General  Conference  of  this  description.  At  that  time  there  were  35  dis- 
tricts, 313  circuits  and  stations,  540  traveling,  and  about  2,000  local 
preachers,  and  151,995  members.  Hitherto  the  Conferences  possessed 
unlimited  powers.  The  system  of  government  was  therefore  subject  to  be 
changed  and  modified  as  the  Conference  pleased.  Sundry  alterations  and 
additions  were  made  at  those  five  Conferences;  but  the  principles  and  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  system  remained  unaltered.  The  plan  of  government 
bore  the  scrutinizing  test  of  experience  and  criticism,  and  the  system  of 
government  was  thereby  perfected,  settled,  and  confirmed. 

THE  DELEGATED  SYSTEM — THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  SUPERINTENDENCY. 

Such  was  the  confidence  which  the  local  preachers  and  members  reposed 
in  the  wisdom,  goodness,  and  prudence  of  the  traveling  ministry  that  the 
Church  enjoyed  a  good  degree  of  harmony  and  peace,  as  well  as  prosperity; 
yet  many  of  her  friends  looked  forward  to  the  possible  events  of  every  suc- 
ceeding General  Conference  with  solicitude  for  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
Church,  for  the  General  Conference  at  that  time  possessed  unrestricted 
powers;  and  those  traveling  preachers  who  had  stood  out  a  certain  pro- 
bation and  met  at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  whether  many  or  few, 
constituted  the  General  Conference;  consequently  there  was  no  constitu- 
tional security  that  the  system  of  government  would  be  perpetuated  or 
the  terms  of  communion  preserved. 

In  1808,  there  were  540  traveling  preachers,  and  128  of  that  number  con- 
stituted .the  General  Conference.  That  Conference,  being  satisfied  of  the 
propriety  and  utility  of  their  system  and  fully  awake  to  their  situation, 
resolved  to  confirm  and  perpetuate  their  well-tried  plan  of  government. 
To  this  end  they  constituted  a  delegated  General  Conference,  formed  a  con- 
stitution, and  so  limited  and  restricted  the  powers  of  their  representatives 
as  to  preserve  the  system  of  government  inviolate  and  secure  the  rights 


Appendix  479 

and  privileges  of  all  the  members.  The  Annual  Conferences  ratified  and 
confirmed  the  constitution.  It  was  accepted  and  adopted  unanimously 
by  every  Annual  Conference  electing  and  sending  representatives  to  act 
under  it. 

The  General  Conference  thus  constituted  is  invested  with  "full  powers 
to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  Church,  under  certain  limitations 
and  restrictions,"  and  to  enforce  those  rules  by  means  of  the  general  super- 
intendents, who  are  amenable  to  them  for  the  administration.  A  general 
superintendency  is  therefore  indispensably  necessary;  neither  the  General 
Conference  nor  the  itinerant  plan  could  exist  long  without  it.  Hence 
it  is  provided  in  the  constitution  that  the  General  Conference  "shall  not 
change  or  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our  government  so  as  to  do  away  epis- 
capacy,  or  destroy  the  plan  of  our  itinerant  general  superintendency." 

Now,  as  the  same  power  which  constituted  the  delegated  Conference 
thus  confirmed  and  perpetuated  the  general  superintendency,  it  must  be 
equally  as  permanent  as  the  General  Conference  itself;  and  to  guard 
against  such  afflictive  and  destructive  alterations  as  it  was  in  the  power 
of  the  former  Conference  to  make,  the  delegated  Conferences  are  not  "to 
revoke,  alter,  or  change  our  Articles  of  Religion,  or  to  establish  any  new 
standards  or  rules  of  doctrine  contrary  to  our  present  existing  and  estab- 
lished standards  of  doctrine."  It  was  the  belief  of  those  doctrines  that 
first  united  the  preachers  and  people  in  sentiment  and  affection;  and  the 
cordial  belief  of  them,  like  silken  cords,  still  bind  the  whole  connection 
in  harmony  and  love.  The  fourth  article  preserves  "the  General  Rules  of 
the  united  societies,"  and  the  fifth  perpetuates  the  mutually  agreed  to  and 
long-established  rules  by  which  disorderly  preachers  and  members  are  to 
be  dealt  with.  By  these  judicious  regulations,  the  General  Conference  has 
lost  its  power  to  make  injurious  changes;  and  the  rights  of  the  members 
being  secured,  the  public  mind  is  happily  delivered  from  fear  of  ruinous 
changes:  it  rests  under  the  protection  of  those  limitations  and  restrictions; 
consequently  the  Church  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  fact  that  the  govern- 
ment is  mainly  in  the  hands  of  the  traveling  ministers. 

The  general  superintendents  are  constituted  the  supreme  executive 
or  the  deputy  of  executive  power. 

It  is  the  duty  of  a  bishop,  or  superintendent,  "to  preside  in  the  Confer- 
ences; to  ordain  bishops,  elders,  and  deacons;  to  travel  through  the  con- 
nection at  large;  to  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  so- 
cieties." And  for  the  faithful  performance  of  those  duties,  they  are  amen- 
able to  the  General  Conference,  who  have  power  to  expel  them  for  im- 
proper conduct,  if  they  see  it  necessary.  But  in  order  to  constitute  them 
justly  responsible,  they  should  be  clothed  with  sufficient  power  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  enjoined  on  them.  Therefore  they  are  invested  with  the 
power  of  ordination  and  full  power  to  superintend  the  work  at  large. 

The  traveling  preachers  collectively  have  delegated  to  them  these  pow- 
ers: to  fix  the  appointments  of  the  preachers  for  the  several  circuits;  in  the 
intervals  of  the  Conferences  to  change,  receive,  and  suspend  preachers;  to 
form  districts;  to  choose,  station,  and  change  presiding  elders,  etc.  But 


480  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  work  extended  so  rapidly  that  in  a  few  years  it  became  impossible  for 
the  bishop  to  superintend  in  person;  therefore  presiding  elders  were  intro- 
duced as  assistant  superintendents;  and,  as  the  bishops  were  the  only  re- 
sponsible persons  for  the  administration,  they  were  to  choose  the  presiding 
elders,  who  are  fully  authorized  to  superintend  the  work  in  the  absence  of 
the  bishops.  Therefore  the  office  of  a  presiding  elder  is  not  separate  or  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  a  general  superintendent,  but  is  inseparably  connected 
with  a  part  of  it  and  concluded  in  it.  They  are  deputized  by  the  bishops, 
who  bear  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  administration  as  their  assistants 
in  the  superintendency.  Therefore  the  bishops  must  appoint  the  presiding 
elders,  or  be  relieved  of  responsibility  for  the  administration.  Hence  the 
bishops  appear  to  be  primarily  the  overseers  of  the  preachers  as  well  as  of 
the  whole  body  of  the  Church.  But  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  ac- 
knowledged as  the  head  of  the  body,  they  are  but  principle  servants,  chosen 
by  the  preachers  and  bound  to  govern  according  to  rules  made  by  them, 
and  by  which  they  themselves  have  agreed  to  be  governed.  They  are  thus 
accountable  to  the  very  persons  over  whom  they  exercise  authority,  and 
"  may  be  expelled  by  them  for  improper  conduct,  if  they  think  it  necessary." 
Such  a  general  superintendency  may  help  to  carry  on  the  glorious  work 
and  increase  our  joy,  but  they  have  no  power  to  oppress. 

CHECKS  ON  GENERAL  CONFERENCES  AND  BISHOPS. 

The  representatives  and  the  general  superintendents  who  compose  the 
General  Conference  do  not  act  as  separate  and  distinct  bodies,  and  yet 
such  is  their  respective  relations  to  their  constituents  that  they  form  a 
check  on  each  other  in  order  to  preserve  the  constitutional  rights  and  priv- 
ileges of  the  preachers  and  people. 

In  the  sixth  article  the  mode  of  altering  or  amending  the  constitution  is 
pointed  out,  and  stands  thus: 

"Provided,  nevertheless,  That  upon  the  joint  recommendation  of  all  the 
Annual  Conferences,  then  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence succeeding  shall  suffice  to  alter  any  of  the  above  restrictions." 

By  this  proviso  our  constituents  have  reserved  to  themselves  the  right 
of  judging  in  constitutional  cases  and  effectually  prohibited  every  infringe- 
ment on  their  sacred  rights.  The  superintendents  have  no  negative  on  the 
General  Conference;  but,  if  that  body  should  attempt  to  exceed  the  bounds 
of  their  delegated  power,  the  superintendents  may  declare  the  procedure 
unconstitutional;  and  if  it  should  remain  a  subject  of  dispute  between  the 
Conference  and  superintendents,  it  must  be  referred  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences as  a  constitutional  question. 

In  this  way  the  general  superintendency  is  a  safe  and  easy  check  on  the 
delegated  Conference.  But  the  bishops  are  amendable  to  that  body  for 
their  administration.  The  Conference  is  therefore  a  powerful  check  on 
them  in  the  exercise  of  their  powers.  It  is  the  bishop's  prerogative  "to 
form  districts,"  etc.  But  this  is  so  connected  with  the  power  of  choosing, 
stationing,  and  changing  the  presiding  elders  that  if  they  were  deprived  of 
the  power  to  choose  the  presiding  elders  that  of  forming  districts  should  be 


Appendix  481 

taken  from  them.  But  the  bishops'  authority  to  superintend  the  work  at 
large  consists  principally  in  their  power  to  choose  the  presiding  elders,  for 
they  act  under  the  bishops'  authority  and  are  their  assistants  in  the  gen- 
eral superintendency.  But  if  the  presiding  elders  were  chosen  by  the  An- 
nual Conference,  received  their  executive  authority  from  that  body,  and 
were  accountable  to  them,  the  bishops  would  have  no  power  to  overrule 
their  administration  and  therefore  ought  to  be  released  from  the  obligation. 

It  is  the  duty  of  a  bishop,  in  the  intervals  of  the  Conferences,  to  change, 
receive,  and  suspend  preachers,  as  necessity  may  require  and  as  the  Dis- 
cipline directs;  but  this  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing the  preachers  for  the  several  stations,  that  if  the  bishops  were  deprived 
of  the  latter,  they  ought  not  to  retain  the  former,  because  such  a  divided 
superintendency  might  destroy  itself.  A  committee  might  station  the 
preachers  at  Conference;  and  immediately  after,  the  bishop  might  make 
an  entirely  different  arrangement  by  changing  of  the  same  preachers.  But 
a  very  considerable  part  of  the  bishop's  authority  to  oversee  the  work  is 
contained  in  his  power  to  station  the  preachers;  for  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  preachers  the  superintendents  at  once  select  the  governing  preachers, 
clothe  them  with  executive  powers,  and  supply  the  Church  with  officers 
for  the  exercise  of  discipline  in  every  department  of  the  whole  work.  But 
if  the  form  of  government  was  altered,  as  stated  above,  the  bishops  would 
be  completely  divested  of  the  powers  of  an  overseer,  they  would  have  no 
authority  to  overrule  or  manage  the  business  officially,  and  therefore  jus- 
tice requires  they  should  be  freed  from  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
overseers.  This  being  done,  the  remaining  duties  of  a  bishop  would  stand 
thus:  to  preside  in  our  Conferences;  to  travel  through  the  connection  at 
large;  to  ordain  bishops,  elders,  and  deacons. 

The  following  questions  may  deserve  a  serious  thought:  Can  a  man  be 
found  who  would  think  his  time  and  talents  well  employed  in  that  station? 
If  there  is,  would  it  be  profitable  and  safe  to  employ  or  set  one  apart  to  fill 
such  an  office?  Would  the  form  of  Discipline  recognize  such  a  one  as  the 
general  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church?  Could  the 
constitution  recognize  such  a  one  as  the  President  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence? Would  he  have  a  legal  claim  to  a  seat  as  a  member  of  the  General 
Conference? 

THE  DELEGATED  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  CANNOT  GIVE  THE  ANNUAL 
CONFERENCES  THE  AUTHORITY  TO  ELECT  PRESIDING  ELDERS. 

The  delegated  General  Conference  has  no  authority  to  empower  the 
Annual  Conferences  to  elect  presiding  elders  and  invest  them  with  super- 
intending authority;  neither  has  it  power  to  constitute  presiding  elders  a 
committee  to  station  the  preachers. 

The  General  Conference  possesses  only  a  delegated  power,  which  is  to 
be  exercised  under  certain  limitations  and  restrictions;  but  this  power  is 
not  transferable,  for  no  representative  has  a  right  to  transfer  his  delegated 
powers  to  another.  Of  course,  a  body  composed  of  such  members  can 
have  no  such  right;  neither  does  the  constitution  authorize  the  General 
31 


482  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Conference  to  transfer  its  delegated  power,  or  to  make  such  a  change  in 
the  form  of  government;  therefore  it  is  not  within  the  limits  of  its  delegated 
powers  to  effect  such  a  revolution. 

Even  the  body  from  whom  the  delegated  Conference  derived  its  exist- 
ence and  powers  never  elected  presiding  elders  or  stationed  the  preachers, 
and  there  is  room  to  doubt  if  it  ever  was  the  prerogative  of  the  collective 
body  so  to  do.  That  the  preachers  who  composed  it  had  a  right,  as  indi- 
viduals, to  make  their  own  appointments  and  therefore  had  an  undoubted 
right  to  authorize  whom  they  pleased  to  make  appointments  for  them  is 
admitted  by  all;  and  that  the  preachers  did  formilly  authorize  the  general 
superintendents  to  choose  the  presiding  elders  and  appoint  the  preachers 
for  the  several  stations  will  be  denied  by  none;  therefore  the  former  Gen- 
eral Conference  cannot  claim  the  power  of  appointing  presiding  elders  and 
stationing  the  preachers,  otherwise  than  the  preachers  who  composed  it 
had  power  to  divest  the  general  superintendents  of  that  power  and  confer 
it  on  another  or  exercise  it  in  their  collective  capacity,  if  they  had  been  so 
minded.  But  this  it  has  never  done.  That  it  did  not,  and  intended  that 
it  should  not  be  done,  will  appear  from  the  following  circumstance: 

When  the  report  of  the  committee  which  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a 
constitution  was  before  the  General  Conference,  a  member  moved  the 
postponement  of  that  subject  for  the  express  purpose  of  bringing  in  a  mo- 
tion to  authorize  the  Annual  Conferences  to  elect  the  presiding  elders.  It 
was  done;  and  that  body,  who  had  as  much  right  to  introduce  the  proposed 
alteration  as  they  had  to  form  the  constitution,  took  up  the  proposition, 
amply  discussed  the  subject,  and  rejected  it. 

The  friends  of  the  proposed  alteration  thought  the  constitution  would 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  the  delegated  Conference  to  effect  the  desired 
change,  and  therefore  proposed  to  make  the  alteration  before  the  constitu- 
tion was  ratified.  But  the  preachers  preferred  the  old  plan  and  therefore 
rejected  the  motion.  After  twenty  years'  experience,  and  with  the  con- 
stitution fully  before  them,  they  refused  to  invest  the  Annual  Conferences 
with  power  to  elect  presiding  elders,  and  at  the  moment  of  constituting  the 
delegated  Conference,  deliberately  confirmed  it,  and  continued  it  in  gen- 
eral superintendents,  with  whom  it  had  been  intrusted  from  the  beginning. 
The  presiding  elders  never  were  elected  by  the  preachers,  either  in  their 
Annual  or  General  Conference  capacity,  but  were  from  their  commence- 
ment chosen  by  the  general  superintendents,  with  the  consent  of  the  preach- 
ers collectively;  and  this  rule  was  ratified  and  confirmed  by  the  same  au- 
thority that  constituted  the  delegated  Conference.  Now,  as  the  bishops 
do  not  derive  this  power  from  the  delegated  Conference,  but  from  the 
preachers  collectively,  the  delegated  body  can  have  no  authority  to  take 
it  from  them.  This  can  be  effected  by  none  but  that  body  from  whom 
they  received  it. 

That  the  delegated  Conference  is  authorized  to  elect  and  consecrate  a 
bishop,  and  that  a  bishop  so  consecrated  is  invested  with  the  powers  of  an 
overseer  is  undoubtedly  true;  and  that  the  bishop  is  authorized  to  choose 
the  presiding  elders  is  equally  so.  Now,  a  presiding  elder  so  chosen  is  there- 


Appendix  483 

by  clothed  with  power  to  oversee  the  temporal  and  spiritual  business  of 
his  district.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  the  bishop  created  the  office,  and 
therefore  he  may  abolish  it;  or  that  he  confers  the  power,  and  therefore  he 
may  withhold  it.  The  case  is  fairly  thus:  The  office  of  presiding  elder  was 
created,  the  duties  of  that  office  appointed,  and  power  to  discharge  those 
duties  conferred  by  the  preachers  collectively,  which  the  bishops  have  no 
authority  to  abolish.  They  may  choose  and  change  the  officer,  but  cannot 
abrogate  the  office  or  its  powers  and  rights. 

In  like  manner  the  office  of  a  bishop  was  constituted,  the  duties  of  that 
office  appointed,  and  power  to  discharge  those  duties  conferred  by  the 
preachers  collectively,  over  which  the  delegated  Conference  has  no  con- 
trol. The  General  Conference  is  authorized  to  elect  and  consecrate  a 
bishop,  and  the  man  so  consecrated  is  invested  with  the  powers  of  a  gen- 
eral superintendent  and  is  amenable  to  that  body  for  the  administration, 
consequently  he  is  under  their  control;  but  they  have  no  authority  to  do 
away  the  office,  or  to  divest  the  bishop  of  power  to  perform  the  duties  of 
his  office;  therefore  it  is  not  within  the  limits  of  the  delegated  Conference's 
power  to  effect  such  a  change  in  the  system  of  government. 

The  same  conclusions  will  follow  from  a  fair  construction  of  the  con- 
stitution. 

Among  the  limitations  and  restrictions  under  which  the  delegated  Con- 
ference must  act,  one  says:  "They  shall  not  change  or  alter  any  part  or 
rule  of  our  governemnt  so  as  to  do  away  episcopacy,  or  destroy  the  plan 
of  our  itinerant  general  superintendency." 

To  superintend  is  to  oversee,  to  overlook  or  take  care  of  others  with 
authority;  and  superintendency  implies  superior  care,  the  act  of  overseeing 
with  authority. 

The  words,  "itinerant  general  superintendency,"  in  the  constitution, 
must  mean  the  same  thing  which  is  called  the  "duties  of  a  bishop,"  and 
pointed  out  in  the  fourth  section  of  the  form  of  Discipline.  For  the  bishops 
are  "elected  by  the  suffrages  of  the  General  Conference  to  exercise  the  epis- 
copal office,  and  superintend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America." 
(P.  24.)  And  a  part  of  the  bishop's  duty  is  to  preside  in  the  Conference. 
But  the  constitution  says  one  of  the  general  superintendents  shall  preside  in 
the  General  Conference;  therefore  the  form  of  Discipline  knows  no  general 
superintendents  except  those  who  are  elected  and  ordained  bishops  ac- 
cording to  the  form  of  Discipline,  and  thereby  authorized  and  bound  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  that  office  as  pointed  out  in  the  fourth  section  of 
that  book.  But  the  authority  of  superintendents  consists  principally  in 
their  power  to  choose  presiding  elders  and  station  the  preachers,  because 
the  repsponsibility  of  the  governing  preachers  directly  to  the  bishops  en- 
ables them  to  overrule  the  administration.  But  if  the  bishops  were  de- 
prived of  the  power  of  choosing  presiding  elders  and  stationing  the  preach- 
ers, or  of  appointing  the  governors  of  districts  and  circuits,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  and  those  officers  were  thereby  released  from  their  responsi- 
bility to  the  gerneral  superintendents,  they  would  no  longer  have  power  to 
superintend  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Then  the  government  by 


484  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

bishops  would  be  at  an  end  and  our  itinerant  general  superintendency 
would  be  destroyed;  therefore  the  constitution  will  not  admit  such  a  change 
in  the  system  of  government. 

For  as  much  then  as  the  propositions  under  consideration  imply  a  change 
in  the  constitution,  and  no  such  change  can  take  place  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  Annual  Conferences,  in  conformity  to  the  provision  made  for 
altering  any  article  of  the  constitution,  the  Conference  may  propose  the 
change  to  the  ensuing  Annual  Conferences  for  their  examination  and  con- 
sent, but  further  they  cannot  go  with  safety. 


LETTERS  FROM  BISHOP  McKENDREE  TO  JOSHUA 

SOULE 

IF  the  resolutions  of  1820,  making  the  presiding  elders  elec- 
tive and  constituting  them  a  council  to  station  the  preachers, 
had  not  been  suspended,  Bishop  McKendree  would  have  pro- 
tested and  taken  an  appeal  to  the  Annual  Conferences  on  the 
plea  of  their  unconstitutionality,  which  might  have  led  to  seri- 
ous complications  and  disagreements  between  the  Conferences 
themselves  and  between  the  preachers  and  the  bishops,  as  well 
as  between  the  bishops  themselves.  Much  disaffection,  and  per- 
haps a  serious  secession,  might  have  resulted.  But  the  sus- 
pension of  those  resolutions  until  the  next  General  Conference 
gave  a  new  turn  to  the  subject  and  enabled  him  to  refer  the 
question,  in  a  modified  form,  to  the  Annual  Conferences  by  pro- 
posing to  grant  the  wishes  of  those  who  voted  for  the  resolu- 
tions by  a  corresponding  change  in  the  constitution,  thus  avoid- 
ing a  direct  issue  upon  their  constitutionality.  The  following 
brief  extract  from  his  letter  to  Bishop  Soule  fully  explains  his 
views  and  opinions  on  this  matter  at  that  crisis: 

Dear  Brother:  Bishop  George  left  Raleigh  on  Thursday  at  twelve  o'clock. 
Next  morning  I  set  out,  and  preached  in  Oxford  the  next  Sabbath,  forty 
miles  from  Raleigh.  But  the  spring  has  been  very  wet  and  cold,  which  af- 
fected my  health  and  prevented  our  getting  on  sooner. 

I  wrote  to  you  by  Bishop  George  and  requested  an  answer  to  be  di- 
rected to  Dr.  Wilkins,  but  I  do  not  think  the  business  (on  which  I  am  very 
desirous  to  have  your  judgment)  was  sufficiently  laid  before  you,  there- 
fore I  write  this  before  your  answer  comes  to  hand. 

I  think  you  were  informed  that  I  intended  to  bring  the  Suspended  Res- 
olutions before  the  Annual  Conferences,  commencing  with  the  next  Ohio 
Conference.  But  it  is  my  intention  to  invite  the  Annual  Conferences  to 
authorize  the  ensuing  General  Conferences  to  adopt  the  Suspended  Res- 
olutions. That  they  are  unconstitutional,  and,  if  carried  into  effect  in- 
dependently of  the  Annual  Conferences,  will  have  a  ruinous  effect  on  our 
system  of  government,  I  have  no  doubt.  Nor  do  I  consider  it  an  improve- 
ment of  our  itinerant  system;  but,  as  far  as  I  see,  it  leaves  power  enough  in 
the  superintendency  to  carry  the  rules  into  effect,  if  the  business  can  be 
harmoniously  conducted,  and  without  harmony  it  will  be  ruined  anyway. 
Therefore  the  resolutions  might  be  admitted,  if  constitutionally  estab- 
lished. 

Presuming  on  the  correctness  of  this  statement,  I  anticipate  several 
important  benefits  from  the  intended  course. 

1.  It  will  bring  fully  before  us  the  principle  on  which  the  controversy 


486  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

turns  and  prepare  all  for  the  decision.  At  the  last  General  Conference, 
after  contending  for  so  much  more,  they  professed  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
Restrictive  Resolutions.  If  this  was  the  result  of  conviction,  they  will  be 
pleased  to  have  their  wishes  constitutionally  established;  but  should  they 
object  to  it  in  this  form,  all  may  apprehend  danger. 

2.  It  may  prevent  much  evil.    When  men  pass  a  certain  line,  they  stand 
committed,  and  frequently  must  go  through,  however  painful  and  hazard- 
ous the  consequences.    If  the  resolutions  are  not  for  the  better,  they  may 
be  the  best  that  many  can  bear,  and  therefore  save  us  from  worse  things. 

3.  It  will  ratify  and  permanently  establish  our  constitution,  and  thereby 
effectually  guard  against  further  encroachments  on  the  episcopacy  and 
effectually  secure  the  rights  of  our  preachers  and  members. 

The  suspension  of  the  resolutions  enables  me  to  take  this  course;  other- 
wise, it  must  have  been  an  appeal  on  their  constitutionality.  The  possi- 
bility of  conducting  this  dangerous  contention  so  as  to  prevent  ruinous 
consequences  and  restore  peace  without  making  a  greater  sacrifice,  in- 
clines me  to  think  the  affair  was  providentially  directed. 

Respects  to  Sister  Soule. 

Yours  in  love,  WILLIAM  MCKENDREE. 

DUMFRIES,  VA.,  April  17,  1821. 

The  following  letter  is  a  rejoinder  to  Joshua  Soule's  reply  to 
the  foregoing,  and  shows  that  the  reply  suggested  serious  ob- 
jections and  apprehensions  as  to  the  fate  or  consequences  of  the 
Address  of  the  Bishops  to  the  Annual  Conferences  on  the  Sus- 
pended Resolutions.  They  doubtless  harmonized  as  to  their 
views  of  the  character  of  those  resolutions,  but  we  infer  from 
this  letter  that  something  in  the  Bishop's  "course"  on  the  ques- 
tion was  met  by  objections,  perhaps  upon  the  ground  of  policy, 
or  as  likely  to  subject  him  to  unpleasant  collision  with  the  ar- 
dent friends  of  the  resolutions,  who  denied  their  unconstitution- 
ally. 

But  the  pure-hearted  and  far-seeing  old  Bishop  bravely  pur- 
sued his  course  and  saved  the  Church  from  a  measure  which 
must  have  resulted  disastrously  to  the  effectiveness  of  her  epis- 
copacy and  itinerancy,  if  it  had  not  been  prevented. 

Dear  Brother:  Two  days  ago  I  came  to  Baltimore  and  received  your 
letter.  The  course  to  which  you  oppose  such  weighty  considerations  pro- 
ceeds upon  a  supposition  that  a  ruinous  change  will  take  place  if  something 
be  not  done  to  prevent  it,  that  probably  this  is  the  most  favorable  oppor- 
tunity I  may  ever  have.  I  have  no  expectation  of  satisfying  the  dissatisfied, 
but  if  it  might  save  what  I  esteem  such  a  blessing  to  mankind,  the  end  will 
be  fully  answered. 

To  induce  the  Conferences  to  comply  with  the  request,  it  should  be  laid 
before  them  so  as  to  preclude  contention  and  at  the  same  time  show  the 
distinctive  tendency  of  the  measures  pursued  with  the  propriety  and  util- 


Appendix  487 

ity  of  the  request.  It  is  presumed  the  friends  of  the  old  system  will  see  and 
approve.  This  will  change  the  face  of  things.  All  will  see  that  the  strong- 
est opponents  of  the  revolution  are  disposed  to  accommodate  the  dissat- 
isfied, as  far  as  they  can  in  accordance  with  our  system  of  government  and 
the  rights  of  its  members.  That  it  will  meet  with  disapprobation  is  not 
doubted;  but  opposition  to  it  will  meet  with  considerable  difficulties.  To 
oppose  receiving  what  they  have  been  so  warmly  contending  for,  when  of- 
fered in  a  harmonious  and  constitutional  way,  would  show  a  design  upon 
the  government  itself.  It  is  supposed  that  it  will  at  least  bring  the  sub- 
ject to  issue  unasked  and  set  it  for  trial  on  the  principles  of  our  system 
and  our  rights.  Several  Conferences  having  tacitly  decided  the  change  to 
be  unconstitutional  will  be  a  powerful  barrier  to  its  passage.  But  if  this 
cannot  prevent  its  going  into  effect  independently  of  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences, it  will  certainly  pass  if  no  such  measures  shall  be  taken.  In  that 
case,  we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  done  what  we  could.  If  it 
should  succeed,  the  public  mind,  which  has  rested  on  the  constitutional 
security  of  their  rights,  will  more  securely  and  confidently  rest  on  their 
system. 

I  shall  be  in  this  neighborhood  about  two  weeks.  Let  me  hear  from 
you.  I  should  be  glad  to  know  the  worst  of  what  I  may  have  to  encounter, 
should  be  extremely  glad  to  consult  you  on  the  draft  of  a  communication 
that  now  lies  by  me.  My  physician  advises  me  not  to  visit  you  this  spring. 
I  believe  his  advice  is  good,  and  therefore  decline  the  visit. 

I  shall  wait  patiently  for  information  after  your  Conference,  but  should 
be  glad  to  get  your  strictures  on  the  first  part  of  this  letter  immediately, 
if  practicable.  As  yet  it  is  known  by  two  only,  and  they  are  at  a  distance. 
I  am  inclined  to  consult  one  or  two  in  this  quarter. 

I  expect  to  send  on  an  important  communication  from  Colonel  McKin- 
ney  on  the  subject  of  Indian  affairs,  directed  to  the  New  York  Conference. 
It  was  my  intention  to  send  a  letter  of  direction  and  commit  the  manage- 
ment of  that  business  to  you.  For  these  purposes  you  must  attend  the 
New  York  Conference,  if  possible. 

Yours  most  respectfully,  WILLIAM  MCKENDREB. 

DR.  WILKINR'S,  May  12,  1821. 

This  letter  shows  the  great  anxiety  of  the  Bishop  as  to  the 
action  of  the  Annual  Conferences  upon  his  favorite  measure, 
referred  to  in  the  two  preceding  letters,  and  that,  so  far  as  it  had 
been  tried,  the  result  had  vindicated  his  wisdom,  as  the  sequel 
did  most  conclusively.  It  also  exhibits  his  indomitable  spirit 
in  enduring  the  hardships  and  perils  of  attending  the  Confer- 
ences when  borne  down  with  age  and  infirmities.  Surely  his 
moral  heroism  and  self-sacrificing  labors  prove  him  a  worthy 
successor  of  the  confessors  and  martyrs,  who  "counted  not  their 
lives  dear  to  them."  Allusion  is  made  to  the  transfer  of  Mr. 
Soule  from  the  New  York  to  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which 
occurred  shortly  afterwards. 


488  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

Dear  Friend:  After  considerable  delay,  in  order  to  give  the  fullest  ac- 
count of  my  progress  under  divine  protection,  I  acknowledge  the  reception 
of  yours  of  October  17.  Your  views  of  my  course,  and  the  information  on 
the  state  of  that  subject  in  the  North,  both  comforted  and  encouraged  me. 
And  indeed  such  aid  w  as  highly  necessary;  for  I  was  very  much  oppressed 
with  cares  and  fears,  and  had  to  stand  alone.  Upon  discovering  what  I 
was  about,  my  colleagues  dictated  and  urged  a  very  effeminate  course, 
which,  as  I  told  them,  would  defeat  their  own  purposes.  Of  this  I  think 
Bishop  Roberts  is  now  pretty  well  satisfied.  In  the  Ohio  Conference,  one 
came  out  in  direct  opposition  to  the  validity  of  the  constitution,  but  found 
no  supporter.  Mr.  Ruter  said  handsome  things  in  its  favor.  The  younger 
man  was  run  down.  In  that  and  the  Kentucky  Conference  the  existing 
plan  was  warmly  contended  for,  the  Suspended  Resolutions  barely  ad- 
mitted. 

I  did  not  write  to  the  Missouri  Conference,  but  suffered  Bishop  Roberts 
to  manage  the  Address  as  he  pleased.  He  thinks  it  would  have  passed  if 
I  had  been  there.  With  difficulty  he  prevailed  upon  them  to  lay  it  over  to 
the  next  Conference.  The  Tennessee  Conference  took  up  the  subject  and 
without  opposition  pronounced  the  Suspended  Resolutions  an  infringe- 
ment ot  the  constitution  (as  did  the  other  Conference  that  acted  on  the 
subject),  and  seemed  as  ready  to  confirm  a  second  resolution,  to  which  the 
Bishop  objected,  saying  they  might  as  well  do  nothing,  and  received  for 
answer:  "We  intend  to  do  nothing  more  than  to  prevent  the  resolution 
from  being  carried  into  effect."  One  interfered,  and  the  subject  was  laid 
over  and  never  concluded  until  the  last  day  of  the  Conference.  Some  of 
the  principal  men  assured  the  Conference  that  they  were  sincere  in  what 
they  said  on  the  subject  at  other  times,  and  that  they  could  now  as  sin- 
cerely vote  for  its  passage.  They  seemed  to  be  of  one  mind  in  their  move- 
ments and  voted  for  its  adoption  on  constitutional  principles.  From  what 
passed,  I  apprehend  the  following  considerations  influenced  their  minds: 

1.  If  the  passage  of  those  resolutions  would  prevent  a  division  and  har- 
monize the  body,  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  prevent  their  being  carried 
into  effect. 

2.  This  course  will  not  compel  the  General  Conference  to  make  the 
change,  but  authorize  it  as  the  constitution  directs,  if  in  its  judgment  the 
change  should  be  thought  necessary. 

3.  As  Bishop  Roberts  decided  that  the  representatives,  when  chosen, 
would  be  subject  to  their  instructions  and  at  full  liberty  to  act  according 
to  their  best  judgment,  they  thought  it  would  be  the  most  effectual  way 
to  prevent  carrying  the  resolutions  into  effect  by  a  bare  majority,  in  op- 
position to  the  constitution,  and  put  an  end  to  the  controversy  by  estab- 
lishing and  confirming  the  constitution.    A  new  scene  is  opening;  a  little 
time  may  show  us  the  way  more  clearly. 

I  am  strangely  preserved,  and  still  know  not  for  what,  except  to  make 
more  thorough  preparation  for  my  passage  to  a  better  world.  I  never  sus- 
tained my  relation  to  the  Church  with  so  little  encouragement  and  com- 
fort as  at  present. 


Appendix  489 

The  help  afforded  was  not  sufficient  for  me  to  bear  the  burden  of  man- 
aging a  carriage  through  the  western  country;  I  therefore  left  it  in  Tennes- 
see, resolved  to  come  on  horseback,  if  able;  if  not,  to  winter  in  the  West. 
I  bore  the  toils  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  to  the  Tennessee  Confer- 
ence, and  from  this  took  courage  and  came  on.  I  have  been  graciously 
supported  on  the  journey  through  the  mountains  and  wonderfully  pre- 
served from  the  effect  of  lying  in  the  woods,  traveling  nearly  thirty  miles 
a  day  through  tremendous  rains  for  three  days  together,  and  crossing  deep 
and  dangerous  streams,  where  the  water  ran  over  several  of  the  horses' 
backs,  but  where  none  were  injured.  All  arrived  safe.  The  horses  are 
afflicted,  but  the  men  are  in  health.  0  that  I  could  praise  God  as  I  ought 
to  do! 

At  the  late  Conference,  I  conversed  with  the  bishop  on  your  transfer, 
as  intimated,  and  send  the  inclosed,  that  you  may  appear  officially  if  I 
should  not  be  there.  It  is  presumed  you  may  wish  to  attend  the  New 
York  Conference,  to  which  I  have  no  objection;  however,  in  this  you  are 
at  liberty.  If  you  move  at  once,  bring  a  recommendation  from  your 
charge. 

I  have  many  things  to  say  when  we  meet.  W.  MCKENDREE. 

CLARK  COUNTY,  GA.,  November  28,  1821. 


LETTERS    OF    BISHOP    McKENDREE    AND    BISHOP 

GEORGE 

FROM  the  following  letters,  which  passed  between  Bishops 
McKendree  and  George,  it  appears  that  Bishop  McKendree 
read  his  Address  to  the  General  Confernce  of  1820  to  his  col- 
leagues before  he  presented  it  to  the  Conference,  and  that  while 
Bishop  George  approved  it,  he  subsequently  favored  the  resolu- 
tions making  the  presiding  elders  elective  according  to  the  com- 
promise plan  which  was  afterwards  reconsidered  and  suspended 
through  the  influence  of  Bishop  McKendree  and  the  bishop 
elect,  Joshua  Soule.  This  change  in  Bishop  George's  course 
drew  from  Bishop  McKendree  a  letter  of  remonstrance  and  a 
reply.  It  is  due  to  Bishops  George  and  Roberts  to  say  that  the 
writer  has  reason  to  believe  that  neither  of  them  was  in  favor 
of  the  Suspended  Resolutions  upon  the  ground  of  the  intrinsic 
merits  of  the  plan,  but  simply  as  a  "peace  measure,"  and  did  not 
at  that  time  take  the  ground  that  it  involved  a  constitutional 
question,  as  did  the  other  two  named  above.  We  hold  that 
Bishops  McKendree  and  Soule  were  correct,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  before  their  death  the  other  two  agreed  with 
them,  both  as  to  the  inexpediency  and  illegality  of  the  measure. 

BALTIMORE,  May  19,  1820. 

Dear  Bishop:  Previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, at  your  request  I  submitted  my  Address,  which  you  examined  and 
approved,  and  proposed  that  it  should  be  changed  from  a  single  to  a  joint 
Address,  and  for  yourself  and  Brother  Roberts  to  sign  it  with  me,  and  have 
but  one,  to  which  I  had  no  objection. 

I  understood  that  you  professed  to  be  more  than  ever  confirmed  in  the 
propriety  of  the  government;  but  Bishop  Roberta's  opinion,  known  to  us, 
prevented  him  from  coming  into  the  measure  proposed  by  yourself;  nor 
did  I  consider  him  to  blame.  To  obviate  the  inconvenience,  I  proposed, 
as  my  Address  professed  to  be  deficient,  and  referred  to  you  to  supply  that 
deficiency,  that  you  and  Bishop  Roberts  should  prepare  a  joint  Address 
for  that  purpose,  that  the  two  might  present  to  the  Conference  a  complete 
view  of  the  work.  To  this  proposal  I  think  Bishop  Roberts  consented,  and 
thought  with  myself  that  it  might  be  done  with  propriety;  but  you  re- 
jected it,  because,  as  I  understand,  you  declared  in  favor  of  the  sentiments 
contained  in  my  Address,  and  supposed  that  joining  with  Bishop  Roberts 
would  expose  you  to  censure. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  I  heard  with  surprise  some  time  after  that  you 
were  pursuing  measures  which  were  calculated  to  produce  a  conviction 
that  you  were  friendly  to  an  alteration  of  our  government,  inviting  a  pri- 
vate meeting  of  individuals  to  confer  on  a  proposition  calculated  to  affect 


Appendix  491 

the  government,  and  in  other  ways  using  your  influence  to  produce  a  rad- 
ical change  in  our  system,  which  from  your  profession  had  an  additional 
claim  on  your  patronage.  These  things,  connected  with  some  others  not 
very  dissimilar  in  appearance,  induce  me  to  request  an  explanation,  that 
I  may  be  delivered  from  the  disagreeable  impressions  made  on  my  mind 
by  these  circumstances. 

Yours  respectfully,  W.  McKENDREE. 

BISHOP  GEORGE'S  REPLY. 

BALTIMORE,  May  19,  1820. 

Dear  Bishop:  Having  attentively  examined  your  communication,  my 
intention  is  to  answer  in  the  integrity  of  my  heart.  And  first,  you  think 
I  avowed  an  opinion  in  favor  of  your  Address.  To  this  opinion  I  do  with- 
out any  kind  of  hesitation  agree.  If  you  ask  for  an  explanation  of  my  sub- 
sequent conduct  in  agreeing  to  or  in  any  way  aiding  the  compromise  that 
now  forms  the  rules  or  resolutions  by  which  the  government  is  to  be  ad- 
ministered, my  answer  is  plainly  this:  In  your  Address  you  say  that  an 
effective  general  superintendency  is  essentially  necessary  to  our  itinerant 
preaching  of  the  gospel.  To  this  I  do  sincerely  agree;  but  you  may  dis- 
tinctly understand  me  when  I  say,  that  if  the  resolutions  or  rules  passed 
by  this  General  Conference  affect  the  springs  of  that  superintendency  so 
as  to  enfeeble  its  operations,  I  have  not  sagacity  to  comprehend  it.  On 
this  my  mind  rests  with  tranquillity,  believing  that  I  have  acted  up  to  my 
judgment  and  under  the  influence  of  my  clearest  convictions.  Had  the 
resolutions  given  the  power  to  the  Annual  Conferences  to  elect  at  pleasure, 
or  nominate  indefinitely,  to  this  mode  of  obtaining  presiding  elders,  my 
opinion  would  have  been  that  such  a  mode  of  proceeding  would  have  been 
an  unconstitutional  transfer  of  power.  But  when  the  bishop  has  the  right 
of  nomination,  and  the  Annual  Conferences  the  right  to  sanction  that  nom- 
ination, I  cannot  comprehend  any  radical  change  in  the  government.  As 
to  my  joining  Brother  Roberts  in  an  Address  purporting  that  my  views 
were  in  unison  with  his  (if  his  are  the  same  they  were  at  the  last  General 
Conference,  and  I  know  of  no  change) — viz.,  that  Annual  Conferences 
should  elect  their  presiding  elders — I  could  not  in  conscience  do  any  such 
thing.  But  again:  the  making  out  an  Address  when  I  considered  the  sub- 
ject entirely  and  completely  before  the  General  Conference,  would,  in  my 
estimation,  have  been  superfluous.  I  close  my  remarks  on  this  part  of  the 
subject  by  saying,  what  I  have  done,  less  or  more,  has  been  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  close  the  controversy  and  promote  peace,  harmony,  order,  and 
usefulness  among  us  as  fellow  laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  If  I 
have  erred,  as  soon  as  I  am  convinced,  I  hope  my  gracious  Lord  will  enable 
me  to  make  suitable  concessions.  Permit  me  to  say  that  I  have  held  your 
friendship  in  high  estimation;  my  intention  at  present  is  never  to  do  any- 
thing intentionally  to  forfeit  either  your  confidence  or  friendship.  I  still 
hope  you  will  tell  me  of  my  faults,  personally  or  by  letter;  and  when  and 
where  I  can  amend  my  doings,  I  shall  most  certainly  do  so.  Pray  for  me. 

ENOCH  GEORGE. 


DONATIONS 

THE  following  letter  from  Dr.  Emory  to  the  Bishop  illustrates 
the  high  and  merited  confidence  universally  reposed  in  his 
character  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  trustworthiness  in  every- 
thing. It,  moreover,  shows  the  honorable  conduct  of  the  lady, 
who,  although  not  legally  bound  to  carry  out  her  deceased  hus- 
band's bequest,  yet  agrees  to  do  so,  provided  the  Bishop  will 
accept  and  appropriate  the  money.  Dr.  Emory  was  Assistant 
Agent  of  the  Book  Concern  at  the  time. 

DR.  EMORY  TO  BISHOP  MCKENDREE. 

MURFREESBORO,  N.  C.,  January  17,  1828. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Dr.  William  J.  Waller,  of  this  station,  informs 
me  that  a  lady  of  Virginia,  near  Suffolk,  has  in  her  hands  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, which  she  wishes  to  present  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
through  you.  This  information  Dr.  Waller  received  from  the  Rev.  0. 
Bernard,  who  traveled  the  circuit  within  which  the  lady  lives  and  re- 
ceived the  information  directy  from  the  lady  herself.  The  circumstances, 
as  I  learn  them,  are,  that  her  husband,  now  dead,  devised  a  certain  tract 
of  land  for  the  use  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which,  either  by 
some  informality  or  inattention,  was  never  received  by  us.  For  this  land 
the  lady  (his  widow)  has  realized  the  above  sum,  which  she  wishes  to  ap- 
propriate agreeably  to  what  she  knows  to  have  been  her  husband's  wish. 
I  understand  that  it  is  her  desire  to  pay  it  to  you  personally  and  to  place 
it  at  your  disposal.  The  particular  object  of  this  communication  is  to  in- 
quire if  you  think  it  probable  that  you  will  visit  Virginia  within  any  short 
period;  and  if  not,  whether  you  would  feel  free,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  address  a  letter  to  the  lady  suggesting  the  propriety  of  paying  it  to  any 
other  person.  Should  you  think  proper  to  do  so,  as  I  calculate  to  attend 
the  Virginia  Conference  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  I  would  endeavor  to  see  the 
lady  on  my  return  and  present  your  letter.  It  is  believed  that  she  would 
in  all  probability,  be  governed  by  your  advice. 

I  sent  you  by  mail  from  New  York  a  copy  of  the  "  Defense  of  our  Fa- 
thers," etc.,  which  I  hope  you  received. 

I  am  on  my  way  to  the  South  Carolina  and  Virginia  Conferences,  and 
collecting,  etc.,  on  the  route. 

With  the  best  wishes  for  your  health  and  happiness,  I  am  very  respect- 
fully and  affectionately  yours,  J.  EMORY. 

MRS.  WESSON'S  DONATION  OF  ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLARS. 

If  casting  two  mites  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  by  a  poor 
Jewish  widow  was  deemed  an  act  worthy  of  divine  commenda- 


Appendix  493 

tion  and  perpetual  remembrance,  may  we  not  chronicle  the  gift 
of  a  thousand  dollars  from  a  Gentile  widow  for  the  same  end? 
As  to  the  pecuniary  condition  of  the  donor,  we  know  nothing.  All 
we  can  say  is  that  this  Christian  lady  determined  to  be  the  al- 
moner of  her  own  bounty  while  living  and  selected  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree  as  the  distributer  of  her  money,  thus  evincing  her 
confidence  in  his  wisdom  and  integrity.  When  this  money  was 
received,  and  how  applied,  we  know  not.  The  probability  is 
that  this  benevolent  lady  had  not  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that 
her  donation  had  been  faithfully  and  usefully  applied,  and  that 
before  she  died  her  "mercy  was  twice  blest." 

What  a  pity  it  is  that  so  few  imitate  her  example,  and  thus 
escape  the  law's  delay,  with  all  the  expenses  and  occasional 
wrangles  attending  testamentary  bequests  for  charitable  and 
religious  purposes! 

April  11,  1828. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Sister  Elvira  Wesson,  who  resides  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Moring's  Meetinghouse,  in  the  county  of  Surry,  and  State  of 
Virginia,  desired  me  to  say  to  you  that  she  wished  to  make  a  donation  of 
one  thousand  dollars  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  and  that  it 
might  take  its  destination,  she  now  wishes,  in  her  lifetime,  to  place  the 
money  in  the  hands  of  the  senior  bishop,  with  whom  some  forty  years  past 
she  had  an  acquaintance.  Tt  is  with  pleasure  I  make  this  communication, 
as  I  feel  confident  it  will  be  productive  of  good  to  that  cause  which  you  have 
so  efficiently  labored  to  spread,  and  which,  for  nearly  forty  years,  has  been 
my  source  of  comfort.  If  you  can  come  on,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  see  you  at 
my  house;  and  by  addressing  me  by  mail  to  Surry  Courthouse,  I  will  make 
an  appointment  for  you  to  preach  at  Moring's.  Please  to  apprise  me 
whether  you  can  come  on  shortly  or  not;  and  if  not,  whether  another  bish- 
op cannot  come. 

Yours  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  JOHN  COCKES. 


FROM  BISHOP  McKENDREE  TO  BISHOPS  GEORGE 
ANDJIEDDING. 

NEW  YORK,  May  16, 1826. 

Dear  Bishops:  I  received  your  joint  communication  addressed  to  me, 
bearing  date  the  12th  inst.  Why  Bishop  Soule,  who  is  as  deeply  interested 
and  as  officially  concerned  in  its  contents  as  either  of  us,  should  be  un- 
noticed, may  appear  somewhat  extraordinary;  but  it  is  hoped  that  it  was 
not  designed  to  treat  him  disrespectfully  in  his  official  character. 

Your  letter  contains  an  inquiry  concerning  several  important  points  re- 
lative to  our  official  interviews  in  Philidelphia;  and  as  it  is  presumed  that 
my  reply  is  desired  as  a  ground  of  your  justification,  I  am  willing  to  answer 
according  to  the  best  of  my  recollection. 

The  facts  embraced  in  your  communication  are  substantially  correct, 
but  are  so  associated  with  other  facts  and  circumstances  as  to  require  them 
to  be  noticed  in  this  connection.  Having  been  disappointed  in  not  meeting 
the  bishops  in  Baltimore  on  March  8  as  had  been  agreed  on  by  a  majority 
of  them,  I  proceeded  on,  attended  by  Bishop  Soule,  to  meet  you  in  Phila- 
delphia. , 

I  arrived  on  April  12,  and  the  next  morning  addressed  a  note  to  Bishop 
George,  requesting  an  interview  as  soon  as  practicable  and  proposing  to 
wait  on  him  at  such  time  and  place  as  might  suit  his  convenience.  In  the 
afternoon  you  waited  on  me  and  found  Bishop  Soule  at  my  room. 

Bishop  George  appeared  to  be  in  a  great  hurry  on  account  of  the  press  of 
business.  You  were  readily  informed  of  the  arrangement  which  had  been 
made  for  the  meeting  in  Baltimore,  above  alluded  to,  and  that  in  conse- 
quence of  its  failure  we  had  come  on  to  see  and  consult  with  you  on  subjects 
of  high  interest  to  the  Church.  In  consideration  of  the  hurry  of  Bishop 
George,  three  points  out  of  many  were  proposed — viz.:  The  appointment  of 
a  minister  to  the  British  Conference,  the  business  of  the  Canada  Con- 
ference in  relation  to  that  appointment,  and  a  change  of  the  effective 
superintendents  in  order  for  each  to  visit  all  the  Annual  Conferences  be- 
fore the  ensuing  General  Conference. 

Bishop  George  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  resolution  of  the  General 
Conference  in  reference  to  the  appointment  of  a  minister  to  England  was 
only  advisory,  and  left  it  discretionary  with  the  superintendents,  and  that 
the  business  was  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  the  expense. 

I  did  nominate  William  Capers  as  our  representative  to  the  British 
Conference,  and  you  did  object  to  him,  alleging  that  he  was  a  slaveholder. 
Bishop  George  did  nominate  Wilbur  Fisk,  and  Ezekiel  Cooper  was  named 
with  expressions  of  strong  doubt  whether  he  could  or  would  go  in  case  he 
was  appointed,  in  consequence  of  which  I  did  not  consider  Brother  Cooper 
as  officially  nominated.  I  think  no  objection  was  made  to  the  character 
of  either  of  these  brethren. 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  Canada  business,  and  in  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  from  the  time  we  met,  Bishop  George  observed, 
in  substance,  that  the  pressure  of  business  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to 
retire;  that  you  would  consider  the  subject;  and  both  of  you  took  leave 
of  us. 

I  heard  nothing  more  from  you  on  this  subject  until  the  seventeenth, 


Appendix  495 

when  a  note  was  handed  me  by  Bishop  Hedding  from  Bishop  George  in  the 
Conference  room,  inquiring  if  you  could  have  an  interview  with  me  in  my 
room  the  next  morning  at  six  o'clock.  My  answer  was:  "Yes."  The  note 
was  handed  to  Bishop  Soule,  approved,  and  returned,  and  we  met  accord- 
ingly at  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth.  After  noting  his 
want  of  time  on  account  of  the  pressing  business,  Bishop  George  introduced 
the  subject  of  the  appointment  of  a  delegate  by  observing  that  he  supposed 
that  Bishop  Soule  and  myself  had  not  changed  our  minds  and  that  you 
were  of  the  same  opinion  as  before  expressed.  Bishop  George  then  gave 
it  as  his  judgment  that  it  was  best  to  send  no  representative,  and  that  a 
letter  to  the  British  Conference  would  answer  all  the  purposes  and  save 
expense.  Bishop  Hedding  was  of  opinion  that  the  resolution  of  the  General 
Conference  required  the  appointment  of  a  delegate,  but  thought  it  better 
to  send  none  than  to  send  one  who  was  in  possession  of  slaves. 

To  these  decisions  I  believe  no  reply  was  made  by  either  Bishop  Soule 
or  myself.  Here  I  supposed  the  appointment  of  a  delegate  failed,  a 
negative  being  fixed  on  it.  After  some  conversation  on  the  proposed 
change  of  the  effective  superintendents,  this  interview,  which  continued 
about  one  hour,  was  closed,  upon  which  Bishop  Soule  concluded  to  return 
to  Baltimore. 

On  the  twentieth  I  received  your  note  in  answer  to  mine  of  the  nineteenth, 
in  which,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  you  introduced  the  subject  of  a 
delegate  again,  and  say  that  you  "should  be  glad  to  meet  me  and  Bishop 
Soule  as  soon  as  your  business  would  admit,  and  see  if  we  could  fix  on 
some  other  man  in  whom  we  could  all  be  agreed." 

From  this  intimation,  connected  with  the  manner  in  which  the  way  to 
our  official  interview  was  to  be  opened,  in  conformity  to  your  conven- 
ience, it  was  reasonable  for  me  to  expect  that  I  should  have  been  informed 
when  "your  business  would  admit"  of  such  a  meeting;  but  the  Conference 
closed  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-third,  and  Bishop  George  left  the  city 
without  speaking  to  me,  and  from  neither  of  you  did  I  receive  the  slightest 
information  on  the  subject  of  the  meeting. 

As  to  writing  to  the  British  Conference  to  apologize  for  not  sending  a 
delegate,  as  you  suggest,  I  do  not  see  how  this  would  remedy  the  evil;  nor 
am  I  convinced  that  we  are  authorized  to  change  the  course  directed. 
Our  responsiblity  is  not  to  the  British  Conference,  but  to  our  General  Con- 
ference. To  that  body  we  must  account,  and  they  must  answer  to  the 
British  Conference  as  one  of  the  contracting  parties. 

In  conclusion,  I  still  believe  that  the  resolution  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence rendered  it  obligatory  upon  the  superintendents  to  send  a  minister 
to  England.  I  have  labored  to  discharge  this  obligation  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  but  it  has  been  defeated  by  the  negative  which  has  been  fixed  upon 
the  appointment.  Under  these  considerations,  connected  with  the  late 
period  of  time,  I  judge  it  most  prudent  for  me  to  decline  any  further 
agency  in  the  case,  not  with  a  design  to  prevent  the  appointment,  but  for 
you  to  manage  the  business  as  you  may  think  best. 

Yours  very  respectfully,  W.  McKENDREE. 


LETTER  FROM  BISHOP  McKENDREE  TO  BISHOP 

ROBERTS 

THE  reader  will  recollect  that  Bishop  McKendree  suffered 
a  dangerous  attack  of  vertigo,  or,  as  he  called  it,  apoplexy, 
while  traveling  on  horseback  from  Tennessee  to  the  Mississippi 
Conference  in  the  fall  preceding  the  date  of  this  letter,  and  that 
he  was  unable  to  leave  that  section  of  country  until  the  follow- 
ing spring.  In  the  meantime,  the  unfortunate  condition  of  our 
Church  in  New  Orleans  attracted  his  attention  and  deeply 
excited  his  Christian  sympathies.  We  were  without  a  Church, 
lot,  or  edifice,  and  it  became  doubtful  whether  the  legislature, 
composed  largely  of  Roman  Catholics  and  others  not  disposed 
to  favor  Methodism,  would  grant  a  legal  charter  of  incorpora- 
tion for  our  Church  property  comformably  to  our  usual  deed. 

The  Brother  Moore  named  in  this  letter  we  suppose  to  have 
been  the  Rev.  Mark  Moore,  who,  it  seems,  was  then  in  the  city  as 
a  missionary.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  talents  and  unimpeach- 
able reputation;  and  although  he  is  blamed  for  consenting  to 
such  a  change  in  the  deed,  which  he  was  trying  to  get  recognized 
by  the  legislature,  as  would  secure  its  acceptance  and  passage, 
yet  his  motives  are  above  suspicion.  He  erred,  it  is  probable, 
but  his  design  was  good. 

During  many  years  Methodism  labored  under  great  discour- 
agement in  New  Orleans,  scarcely  having  a  local  habitation  or  a 
name.  Indeed,  long  subsequent  to  this  date,  notwithstanding 
many  of  our  best  and  most  gifted  ministers  in  that  region  were 
stationed  there,  the  cause  languished  and  was  scarcely  kept 
alive.  This  is  the  first  year  New  Orleans  appears  upon  the 
Minutes  as  a  station,  Mark  Moore  its  missionary.  The  laborious 
and  faithful  ministers  who  have  more  recently  labored  there 
have  placed  our  Church,  by  the  divine  blessing,  in  higher  posi- 
tion. May  we  not  confidently  trust  that  henceforth  it  is  to 
wield  an  increasingly  evangelical  influence  upon  the  destiny 
of  the  city? 

MIDWAY,  WILKINSON  COUNTY,  Miss.,  February  8,  1819. 
Dear  Brother:  I  wrote  to  you  from  this  neighborhood  about  three  weeks 
ago,  which  was  my  first  attempt  to  write  since  I  was  taken  ill.  In  that  let- 
ter I  gave  a  full  account  of  myself,  the  Conferences,  and  the  manuscript 
Minutes.  It  also  contained  suspicions  of  approaching  difficulties  at  New 
Orleans  and  was  directed  to  the  care  of  Brother  Hoffman,  Alexandria. 


Appendix  497 

My  fears  for  our  cause  in  New  Orleans  were  but  too  well  founded.  I  have 
lately  received  a  letter  from  S.  T.  Anderson,  of  that  place,  from  which  the 
following  extracts  are  made.  With  respect  to  the  meetinghouse,  he  says: 

"When  we  shall  attempt  a  subscription  as  yet  remains  uncertain,  and 
that  uncertainty  can  give  way  only  with  the  pressure  for  money,  which  is 
too  heavy  here  to  render  such  a  measure  expedient, 

"We  have  handed  in  our  petition  to  the  legislature  for  an  act  of  in- 
corporation. The  bill  to  be  presented  does  not  please  all  of  us.  At  a  meet- 
ing at  Brother  Moore's,  I  was  appointed  to  make  the  draft,  the  principal 
provisions  of  which  were  these: 

"Vesting  all  the  property  of  every  kind  and  the  ministration  thereof 
in  the  hands  of  the  trustees  and  giving  them  power  to  choose  their  own 
officers  out  of  their  own  body. 

"Two  absolute  negatives  by  the  eldest  preacher  stationed  in  the  city  by 
authority  of  the  superintendents  over  such  elections  and  a  disqualification 
for  six  months  after  of  any  person  so  rejected. 

"An  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of  the  Conference,  or  general 
Church,  so  long  as  superintendents  are  at  the  head  of  it. 

"At  our  counting  room  this  draft  received  the  approbation  of  two  or 
three  members;  but  as  it  went  the  rounds,  it  appeared  necessary  to  call  a 
general  meeting  upon  it,  which  Brother  Moore  did  accordingly.  I  was 
not  present  at  it.  But  then  the  two  clauses  recognizing  the  authority  of 
the  Church  as  now  governed  and  that  of  the  superintendents  in  stationing 
the  preachers  were  both  stricken  out  at  Brother  Moore's  instance,  with 
other  trifling  amendments.  The  bill  thus  amended  was  ordered  to  be  copied 
and  handed  to  our  friends  in  the  legislature,  together  with  our  petition. 
These  changes  were  not  agreeable  to  some  of  us,  but  acquiesced  in  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  notwithstanding  Brother  Moore  is  apprehensive  we  shall 
not  receive  the  moneys  raised  for  us  in  the  Mississippi  Conference." 

At  the  same  time  Brother  Winans  received  the  original  draft,  with  the 
erasures  and  amendments  inclosed  in  a  letter  from  Brother  Moore.  From 
a  former  conversation  with  Brother  Moore  on  the  subject  and  the  face 
of  the  letter,  Brother  Winans  thought  this  course  was  taken  contrary  to 
Brother  Moore's  judgment  or  desire.  You  may  guess  at  the  surprise  con- 
sequent upon  comparing  Brother  Anderson's  letter  with  Brother  Moore's. 

The  draft  presented  to  the  legislature,  which  is  in  my  possession,  pre- 
cludes every  doubt  from  my  mind  of  their  intention  to  establish  them- 
selves upon  congregational  principles,  independent  of  our  form  of  govern- 
ment; and  for  this  purpose,  it  would  seem,  they  pushed  forward  subscrip- 
tions without  our  body  to  secure  all  they  could  from  abroad  before  their 
intention  was  known. 

Brother  Moore  has  communicated  nothing  to  me  on  this  subject.  I 
have  written  to  Brother  Anderson  and  informed  him  that  I  will  not  as- 
sist them  either  directly  or  indirectly  to  build  a  house  on  that  plan;  that 
if  they  should  carry  their  design  into  effect  independent  of  us,  I  would 
neither  receive  it  as  a  Methodist  meetinghouse  nor  appoint  preachers  to 
it;  that  the  object  to  which  we  invited  the  people's  liberality  was  a  Meth- 
32 


498  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

odist  meetinghouse  in  New  Orleans,  and  that  moneys  thus  obtained  could 
not  with  propriety  be  applied  to  such  a  house  as  they  intend  to  build. 
I  hope  you  are  of  the  same  mind  and  will  pursue  the  same  course. 

This  in  substance  Brother  Winans  communicated  to  Brother  Moore 
three  weeks  ago  by  my  direction.  Since  we  received  the  above-mentioned 
letters,  he  has  addressed  him  in  opposition  to  their  plan  in  a  very  appropri- 
ate and  conclusive  manner. 

Brother  John  Richardson  has  done  the  same. 

Brother  Moore  wrote  about  the  time  of  Conference,  which  letter  I 
sent  on  to  you.  He  has  written  one  letter  to  me  since,  but  said  nothing 
of  his  design  to  serve  the  connection  or  6f  the  state  of  New  Orleans  except 
the  prospect  of  his  doing  much  good  there.  Hence  this  Conference  could 
do  but  little  on  that  subject — it  stands  as  a  station  in  the  district  without 
a  preacher. 

S.  Parker  and  J.  Lane  (who  have  not  come  to  their  charges  yet)  are 
appointed  to  receive  and  appropriate  the  moneys  collected  for  building 
in  New  Orleans.  I  would  go  to  the  place  immediately  and  arrest  their 
proceedings  were  I  able,  but  do  not  believe  I  could  hold  up  under  the  bur- 
den; therefore  have  to  submit  all  to  divine  interference  and  your  manage- 
ment. It  remains  for  you  to  determine  whether  Brother  Moore  is  to 
•ontinue  in  that  station  or  another  to  be  sent  to  take  the  charge.  I 
should  certainly  commit  it  to  another  if  I  could,  but  have  no  man  at  my 
disposal. 

You  know  how  our  kind  friends  in  Baltimore  and  elsewhere  have  been 
imposed  on  to  build  such  houses  in  other  places.  I  hope  you  will  not  suf- 
fer it  in  this  case. 

My  late  affliction  has  affected  me  so  seriously  that  I  recover  strength 
but  slowly  and  apprehend  my  return  to  effective  service  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected shortly,  if  it  should  ever  come  to  pass;  but  this  does  not  afflict  me 
at  all.  I  think  I  am  perfectly  resigned  to  my  lot  and  am  willing  to  see  the 
work  in  which  I  have  been  so  long  engaged  pass  to  my  colleagues.  May 
the  Lord  be  with  you,  prepare  you  for  usefulness,  direct  you  through 
difficulties,  and  support  you  under  sufferings! 

I  am  now  at  Brother  Winans's.  They  are  well;  so  are  the  people  in 
general  through  the  neighborhood.  He  desires  me  to  present  his  respects 
to  you. 

The  preachers  and  people  are  happily  united  in  this  quarter,  but  our 
gratitude  and  religion  do  not  seem  to  be  in  proportion  to  our  abundant 
prosperity. 

Yours  affectionately,  W.  McKENDREB. 


METHODIST  TRACT  SOCIETY 

IN  1819,  Joshua  Soule  and  Thomas  Mason  were  the  Book 
Agents  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  New  York,  and 
the  latter  was  the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Methodist 
Tract  Society,  recently  organized.  This  note  is  the  official 
notification  of  the  Bishop's  election  as  President  of  the  Society. 
He  was  President  also  of  the  Missionary,  the  Bible,  and  Sunday 
School  Societies.  He  was  the  well-known,  ardent  friend  of  every 
Christian  and  benevolent  enterprise. 

NEW  YORK,  August  2,  1819. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  At  the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  New  York 
Methodist  Tract  Society  it  was  the  pleasure  of  that  Society  to  elect  you 
for  their  President  (a  brother  having  previously  made  you  a  member  by 
the  payment  of  the  sum  required  by  the  constitution)  and  at  a  subsequent 
meeting  of  the  board  of  managers,  it  was  made  my  duty  to  address  you 
and  make  you  acquainted  with  the  same. 

We  do  not  suppose,  reverend  sir,  by  electing  you  to  the  presidency  of 
our  Society  that  we  have  added  anything  to  that  distinguished  honor 
which  you  already  possess  in  the  Church  of  God,  but  we  desire  your 
patronage  in  favor  of  our  infant  institution  and  request  your  influence 
to  promote  the  establishment  of  auxiliary  societies  in  the  different  sec- 
tions of  our  Church  which  you  may  pass  through  in  your  travels.  I  am 
also  instructed  by  the  board  to  desire  you  to  communicate  any  instruction 
which  you  may  deem  proper  for  us  and  to  forward  any  tract  which  you 
may  be  pleased  yourself  to  write  or  to  select  for  publication;  as  also  to 
suggest  proper  subjects  for  tracts. 

In  company  with  this  letter  I  send  you  a  few  copies  of  our  second  an- 
nual report,  by  which  you  will  be  enabled  to  learn  something  of  what  we 
have  been  doing  in  this  business. 

That  God  may  abundantly  bless  you  and  spare  you  yet  many  years 
for  the  benefit  of  his  Church  is  the  fervent  prayer  of  your  affectionate 
son  in  the  gospel,  THOMAS  MASON, 

Cor.  Sec.  N.  Y.  M.  T.  S. 

REV.  BISHOP  MCKENDBEE. 


LETTER  FROM  ROBERT  PAINE  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

IN  looking  over  the  papers  of  the  Bishop,  the  author  found, 
to  his  surprise,  the  letter  below,  written  by  him  in  1823  and  care- 
fully labeled  and  preserved,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  it  serves 
to  illustrate  the  character  of  his  venerable  and  beloved  friend, 
it  would  not  now  be  made  public. 

During  several  interviews  with  the  Bishop,  he  had  evinced  great 
solicitude  to  obtain  missionaries  for  the  Indian  tribes,  especially 
for  the  Cherokees,  the  Chickasaws,  and  Choctaws.  At  last  he 
asked  me  if  I  felt  willing  to  place  myself  in  his  hands  for  that 
work.  I  replied  that  I  would  try  to  do  any  ministerial  work  to 
which  he  might  assign  me,  but  in  view  of  the  state  of  my  health, 
which  had  not  fully  recovered  from  a  long  and  dangerous  at- 
tack during  that  Conference  year,  he  hesitated  after  mature 
reflection  and  proposed  that  I  should  accompany  him  on  his 
tour  to  the  East  and  possibly  be  transferred  to  some  of  the 
Atlantic  Conferences.  To  this  I  made  no  objection,  and  we 
were  to  think  of  it  and  determine  when  he  should  be  about  to 
start.  My  health  failing  to  improve,  physicians  and  friends 
urgently  dissuaded  me  from  the  labor  and  exposure  incident 
to  the  tour;  and  having  just  published  a  large  and  expensive 
pamphlet  in  vindication  of  our  doctrines  and  in  reply  to  a  very 
insidious  attack  by  an  eminent  Hopkinsian  minister,  I  found 
it  necessary  to  see  to  it  that  the  expense  of  its  publication 
should  be  paid  in  advance  and  consequently  before  I  could  be 
reimbursed  by  its  sale. 

These  facts  were  given  to  the  Bishop  as  due  to  him  and  my- 
self before  he  should  decide  and  then  the  result  was  with  him. 
I  did  not  add  what  I  might  have  said  truly,  that  my  charge 
objected  to  my  removal,  and  he  finally  yielded  to  their  remon- 
strance and  the  above  facts. 

The  next  year  I  had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  him  to 
Baltimore,  as  already  narrated,  where  the  General  Conference 
of  1824  was  held. 

FRANKLIN,  January  27,  1823. 

Dear  Bishop:  Instead  of  going  directly  to  my  father's,  as  I  intended  to 
do  when  I  parted  from  you,  I  have  been  detained  here  until  now,  partly 
by  the  badness  of  the  roads  and  weather,  partly  with  a  desire  to  preach 
to  my  charge,  but  mainly  by  indisposition  caused  by  taking  a  severe  cold; 
but  if  possible,  I  shall  start  on  in  a  few  days. 


Appendix  501 

Since  I  saw  and  conversed  with  you,  I  have  reflected  maturely  upon 
accompanying  you  immediately  to  the  East;  and  from  the  delicate  state 
of  my  health,  my  feebleness,  and  susceptibility  of  taking  cold,  together 
with  the  situation  of  my  pecuniary  affairs,  of  which  I  was  not  fully  ap- 
prised when  we  conversed,  I  have  concluded  that  it  would  be  imprudent 
in  me  to  leave  this  country  immediately,  at  least  without  apprising  you 
of  these  facts.  I  find,  from  the  cold  I  have  taken  and  from  the  fatigue  and 
weakness  which  followed  my  attempt  to  preach  on  yesterday,  that  I 
am  in  a  more  delicate  state  of  health  than  I  was  aware  of  and  not  by  any 
means  so  stout  as  I  supposed.  I  also  learn  from  a  conversation  with 
Brother  Hill,  my  pamphlet  agent  and  steward,  that  my  pecuniary  matters 
demand  immediate  attention.  In  a  letter  to  Brother  Douglass,  I  have 
proposed  that  I  will  yet  go  with  you  on  condition  that  he  will  take  my 
business  into  his  hands  and  meet  the  demands  against  me;  but  I  am  aware 
of  the  propriety  and  force  of  his  objections  and  am  convinced  that  my 
own  attention  and  exertions  are  necessary.  However,  if  you  think  that 
you  will  be  better  accommodated  thereby,  I  shall  feel  it  a  privilege  and 
a  pleasure  to  accompany  you.  But  if  you  can  get  along  as  well  without 
me,  Brother  Wynns  will  certainly  go  with  you  as  far  as  Knoxville,  and 
even  to  Lynchburg  if  you  desire  it,  and  by  spring  I  will  try  to  arrange  my 
matters  so  as  to  be  able  to  attend  to  my  Red  brethren,  if  Brothers  Douglass 
and  Dever  adopt  the  contemplated  plan.  I  shall  glory  in  such  an  enter- 
prise and  exert  myself  to  the  utmost  of  my  little  capacity  toward  the  ac- 
complishment of  so  laudable  an  end;  but  if  Brother  John  Hersey  can  be 
procured,  I  should  say  he  is  the  very  man  for  it. 

Be  so  good  as  to  write  to  me  at  Murfreesboro,  so  that  I  may  get  the 
letter  by  February  1.  Brothers  Wynns  and  Douglass  will  be  there,  and 
we  will  make  our  arrangements  according  to  the  information  contained 
in  your  letter.  May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  bless  and  preserve 
you  unto  eternal  life! 

I  am  your  son  in  the  gospel,  ROBERT  PAINE. 


LETTERS  FROM  T.  L.  DOUGLASS  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

THE  following  letter  from  his  intimate  friend,  his  Logan 
Douglass,  whom  he  named  to  preach  his  funeral  sermon  in 
his  last  hour,  will  show  the  condition  and  views  of  the  Tennessee 
Conference.  We  omit  the  list  of  Appointments,  as  it  can  be 
found  in  the  published  Minutes,  excepting  the  Cherokee  Mis- 
sion. From  the  number  of  men  appointed  to  this  work,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  earnest  and  long-desired  effort  to  Christianize 
the  Indians  was  at  last  entered  upon  in  earnest  by  the  Tennes- 
see Conference.  The  long-cherished  wish  of  the  good  Bishop 
was  now  being  fulfilled. 

MENDENHALL,  December  7,  1827. 

Very  Dear  Brother:  It  has  been  several  months  since  I  received  a  line 
from  you,  and  as  I  could  not  tell  where  a  letter  would  find  you,  I  have  not 
written  to  you.  The  evening  before  I  set  off  to  Conference,  I  heard  you 
had  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gallatin,  and  I  was  willing  to  indulge  a 
hope  that  we  should  have  your  company,  until  I  met  with  Bishop  Soule, 
who  informed  me  you  would  not  be  with  us.  He  at  the  same  time  informed 
me  you  intended  spending  the  winter  among  us.  Several  of  our  friends 
have  asked  me  if  you  will  not  be  at  my  house,  and  I  take  the  privilege 
of  telling  them  I  expect  you  will.  I  should  be  glad  if  you  could  drop  me  a 
few  lines  and  say  you  will  come,  and  the  time  when  we  may  look  for  you. 
Our  quarterly  meeting  is  to  be  in  Franklin,  January  5  and  6.  We  should  be 
glad  to  see  you  then  and  as  much  longer  as  you  are  willing  to  stay. 

Our  Conference  was  held  in  great  peace,  love,  and  harmony  of  senti- 
ment. I  think  it  was  the  happiest  Conference  I  ever  saw  in  the  Western 
country  as  to  union  and  fellowship  among  the  preachers.  There  were 
but  few  converts,  but  I  think  many  good  impressions  were  made  among 
the  people  and  much  good  done  in  the  establishment  of  Methodist  doc- 
trines. We  admitted  12  preachers  on  trial,  ordained  12  deacons  and  7 
elders,  7  located,  1  superannuated  (Richard  Neely),  and  76  appointed  to 
the  several  stations. 

The  appointments  to  the  Indian  work  are  as  follows: 

CHEROKEE  MISSION. 

William  McMahon,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Missions. 
Will's  Valley,  Greenberry  Garrett. 
Oostahnahla,  Turtle  Fields. 
Echota,  James  J.  Trott. 
Oocthkellogee,  Greenville  T.  Henderson. 
Creek  Path,  John  B.  McFerrin. 
Chatooga,  Allen  F.  Scruggs. 
Salakowa,  Dickson  C.  McLeod. 

The  following  brethren  were  elected  delegates  to  the  next  General 
Conference:  William  McMahon,  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  Robert  Paine, 


Appendix  503 

Joshua  Boucher,  John  M.  Holland,  Finch  P.  Scruggs,  John  Page,  James 
Gwin,  and  James  McFerrin.  Our  next  Conference  is  to  be  in  Murfrees- 
boro,  December  4,  1828.  There  has  been  a  little  shaking  among  some  of 
our  preachers  about  the  old  Suspended  Resolutions,  but  with  one  excep- 
tion, perhaps,  we  are  all  nearly  straight.  We  were  determined  to  elect 
no  man  a  delegate  who  was  not  an  Old  Hundred.  We  have  seen  and  read 
the  address  of  members  in  Baltimore  and  Dr.  Bond's  appeal.  I  have 
been  waiting  and  expecting  that  God  would  raise  up  some  person  to  present 
things  to  public  view  in  their  proper  light.  Our  Conference  has  taken  a 
firm  stand.  Our  delegation  are  sound,  and  the  most  of  them  old  men,  the 
fathers  of  the  Church.  The  Holston  Conference  is  also  bringing  in  the 
old  men  (Thomas  Wilkerson).  I  think  if  the  radicals  boast  of  talent  on 
their  side,  which  I  never  thought  was  very  graceful,  they  cannot  lay  claim 
to  all  the  age  and  experience. 

If  you  have  A.  McCaine's  production,  Emory's  reply  to  him,  or  any 
other  work  on  our  government,  please  to  bring  them  with  you  when  you 
come  to  see  us. 

I  have  been  much  afflicted  since  I  saw  you,  but  am  in  health  at  present, 
striving  to  serve  my  Heavenly  Master  and  get  to  heaven.  Remember  me 
in  prayer.  Frances  wishes  me  to  remember  her  to  you  and  joins  me  in 
wishing  you  a  comfortable  ride,  and  we  shall  both  give  you  a  cordial 
welcome  under  our  roof. 

As  ever,  very  sincerely  yours  in  Christ,  THOMAS  L.  DOUGLASS. 

This  letter  marks  an  interesting  epoch  in  our  Church  history 
in  the  Southwest.  The  fertile  regions  west  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  extending  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers  and  in- 
cluding North  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  were  about  to  be  set- 
tled. An  immense  tide  of  immigrants  were  pouring  into  West 
Tennessee,  and  Mr.  Douglass  had  been  appointed  to  the  charge 
of  that  work  in  connection  with  his  proper  district,  the  Nashville 
District.  He  made  an  exploring  tour,  and  now  urges  the  Bishop 
to  send  a  presiding  elder  there.  The  suggestion  was  acted  on, 
and  our  preachers  soon  occupied  the  whole  region.  The  Meth- 
odists became  the  most  numerous  denomination  in  that  whole 
country  and  so  continue  to  this  day. 

Mention  is  made  in  this  letter  of  a  young  preacher  who  had 
recently  died  in  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  in  the  full  career  of  popular 
and  useful  ministerial  labors.  The  name  of  Sterling  Coleman 
Brown  still  carries  a  charm  in  the  memory  of  the  old  Methodists 
in  Tennessee.  No  young  preacher  among  them  had  ever  risen 
so  rapidly  to  notoriety.  He  was  the  son  of  Lewis  and  Cassandra 
Brown,  born  in  Brunswick  County,  Va.,  emigrated  with  his 
parents  to  Giles  County,  Tenn.,  where  he  received  a  good 
English  education  and  some  knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  Greek 
classics.  His  parents  were  comparatively  wealthy,  and  he  had 


504  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

just  begun  the  cultivation  of  his  farm  when,  at  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  he  became  converted  under  the  ministry  of  Miles 
Harper.  At  once  he  began  to  exhort,  hold  prayer  and  class 
meetings,  and  soon  evinced  a  wonderful  power  to  arouse  and 
attract  the  multitude.  In  person  he  was  tall,  lithe,  and  finely 
formed,  with  sandy  hair,  large,  bright  blue  eyes,  a  most  expres- 
sive countenance,  and  a  voice  of  peculiar  pathos.  His  emotions 
were  deep,  his  gestures  emphatic,  and  he  transfused  his  feelings 
into  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  Crowds  followed  him,  and  con- 
verts by  hundreds  were  the  fruits  of  his  labors.  His  career  was 
as  brief  as  it  was  brilliant.  He  fell  in  his  third  year.  We  had 
been  schoolmates  in  boyhood;  our  families  were  intimately 
connected  by  marriage,  his  only  sister  being  my  step-mother 
and  his  brother  William  being  my  brother-in-law;  and,  although 
he  was  several  years  my  elder,  yet  we  were  much  in  each  other's 
company  and  our  friendship  was  ardent.  We  were  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  the  necessity  of  religion  about  the  same  time, 
1817,  confided  our  impressions  to  no  one  but  to  each  other,  and 
after  a  free  and  full  confession  of  our  feelings  amid  the  solitude 
and  silence  of  the  forest  where  our  Heavenly  Father  alone 
witnessed  the  scene,  we  deliberately  shook  hands  to  ratify 
our  solemn  pledge  to  each  other  and  to  our  God,  to  begin  at 
once  to  seek  for  pardon,  and  devote  our  lives  to  his  service.  On 
the  next  day,  October  9,  we  both  professed  conversion  within 
five  minutes  of  each  other,  I  being  by  that  much  the  elder 
Christian.  He  kept  his  pledge.  We  were  licensed  to  preach 
and  joined  the  Tennessee  Conference  at  the  same  time.  It  was 
my  mounful  pleasure  to  wait  upon  him  in  his  last  illness  and  wit- 
ness the  test  of  the  dying  hour  in  vindication  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  his  piety.  His  parents  were  Methodists,  and  his  mother 
was  a  lady  of  extraordinary  intellect  and  piety.  He  was  the 
elder  brother  of  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Brown  and  the  cousin  of  Gov. 
A.  V.  Brown,  of  Tennessee.  By  excessive  labor  and  night  ex- 
posure he  brought  on  a  violent  attack  of  illness,  which,  under 
the  debility  thus  superinduced,  soon  ended  his  course  of  al- 
most unparalleled  usefulness  and  popularity.  His  last  words 
to  me  were:  "If  I  had  a  thousand  lives,  I  would  spend  them  all 
as  an  itinerant  Methodist  preacher.  Farewell;  I  shall  soon  be 
past  the  portals  of  light." 

NASHVILLE  DISTRICT,  September  10, 1821. 

Dear  Brother:  I  wrote  a  few  lines  by  Brother  Maddin,  who  expects  to  at- 
tend the  Kentucky  Conference,  informing  you  of  his  acceptable  standing 
and  usefulness  the  past  year.  I  also  wrote  to  you  by  Brother  Corwine, 


Appendix  505 

in  which  I  mentioned  the  subjects  of  the  District  Conference  and  the 
situation  of  the  Forked  Deer  country.  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  for 
troubling  you  again.  The  solicitude  I  feel  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion  is 
the  only  apology  I  have  to  offer.  I  have  never  communicated  any  intel- 
ligence to  you  or  proposed  any  regulation  for  adoption  which  I  did  not 
conscientiously  believe  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  work  of  God,  and  with 
these  feelings,  I  again  wish  to  remind  you  of  Forked  Deer  country.  That 
section  of  our  work  calls  for  peculiar  attention,  the  constant  attention  of 
a  presiding  elder.  If  there  is  a  circuit  formed  on  Sandy,  as  I  expect  there 
is,  Beech  River  and  Forked  Deer  Circuits  will  make  three  already  formed. 
These  ought  at  least  to  have  one  preacher  on  each  of  them,  and  two  more 
ought  to  be  sent  as  missionaries  to  form  new  circuits.  The  country  is 
rapidly  settling;  numbers  of  our  members  are  moving  there  from  this 
district  and  from  Carolina,  and  the  Presbyterians  who  settled  there  apply 
to  our  preachers  for  preaching;  and  as  they  do  not  settle  so  as  to  form 
neighborhoods  among  themselves,  we  shall  gather  most  of  them  who  wish 
to  enjoy  religious  privileges. 

If  Dover  and  Dickson  Circuits  can  be  attached  to  this  Conference,  then 
add  Swan  and  Buffalo,  and  you  will  have  seven  circuits,  which  may  be 
called  Lower  Tennessee  District,  or  any  other  name  you  please  to  give  it. 
Should  there  be  any  difficulty  about  any  of  the  preachers  from  Kentucky 
Conference  coming  with  Dover  and  Dickson,  we  shall  be  able  in  this  Con- 
ference, I  hope,  to  supply  them.  I  hope  to  carry  at  least  a  dozen  young 
preachers  to  Conference  for  admission  into  the  traveling  connection,  some 
of  our  last  year's  converts. 

Our  beloved  Sterling  C.  Brown  has  finished  his  work  in  this  world — he 
fell  a  martyr  to  excessive  labor.  He  died  in  Lebanon,  at  the  house  of 
Dr.  Frazer,  August  10,  with  his  confidence  strong  in  God. 

Our  camp  meetings  are  going  on,  we  have  had  about  three  hundred 
converts,  and  are  looking  for  much  greater  times  at  the  four  remaining 
meetings. 

I  have  had  some  sickness,  the  effect  of  fatigue.  My  leg  remains  very 
weak,  particularly  in  the  knee,  which  was  considerably  injured.  I  can 
walk  tolerably  well  on  level  ground;  when  the  ground  is  rough  or  broken, 
I  get  along  with  great  difficulty,  and  riding  much  is  very  painful.  My 
visit  to  Forked  Deer  was  more  than  I  ought  to  have  attempted.  I  have 
not  been  able  to  visit  either  Caney  Fork  or  Buffalo.  I  have  had  to  serve 
them  by  proxy.  Sometimes  I  think  a  little  rest  might  be  useful  to  me. 
Of  this,  however,  I  shall  be  able  to  judge  better  about  the  time  of  our  Con- 
ference. 

Praying  that  the  Lord  may  abundantly  bless  and  prosper  his  work 
under  your  care,  I  remain,  as  ever,  yours  in  the  Lord, 

THOMAS  L.  DOUGLASS. 


LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  IRA  ELLIS  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

IRA  ELLIS  was  among  Jour  early  and  useful  preachers  in 
Virginia.  In  1783  he  was  admitted  on  trial.  In  1791  he  had 
charge  of  a  district,  traveled  many  years,  late  in  life  located, 
and  removed  with  his  family  to  Kentucky  some  time  after 
the  date  of  this  letter,  and  his  remains  repose  there. 

The  following  autographic  letter  was  written  in  good  style 
and  was  neatly  executed.  It  exhibits  in  its  matter,  its  tone, 
and  temper  a  sensible  mind,  a  loving  and  cheerful  heart,  and 
a  strong  attachment  to  his  Church.  The  picture  is  morally 
beautiful,  an  aged  and  revered  old  preacher,  surrounded  by  a 
pious  and  loving  family,  still  at  work  for  God,  cheerfully  and 
hopefully  trusting  his  all  to  him ! 

FRANKLIN  CIRCUIT,  PITTSYLVANIA  COURTHOUSE,  February  2, 1827. 

Dear  Brother:  For  some  time  I  have  had  thoughts  of  writing  to  you, 
but  questioned  whether  the  time  you  would  spend  in  reading  it  would 
not  be  worth  more  than  the  letter;  be  that  as  it  may,  I  have  determined 
to  say  something  and  should  be  glad  it  was  in  my  power  to  inform  you  of 
anything  pleasing  and  profitable. 

Through  mercy  I  am  generally  able  to  keep  up,  but  frequently  subject 
to  complaints  and  infirmities  to  which  most  men  are  subject,  especially 
in  the  decline  of  life.  My  memory  fails  me  a  good  deal,  especially  about 
things  of  recent  date,  and  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  are  enfeebled.  My 
strength  also  fails  me,  I  can  bear  but  little  exercise  without  fatigue.  I 
can  scarcely  sing  at  all;  my  voice  is  weak  and  my  teeth  nearly  all  gone. 
My  sphere  of  action  is  quite  contracted,  and  I  am  very  fond  of  home. 
My  sight  is  still  good,  so  that  I  can  read  the  smallest  print  on  a  fair  day 
without  glasses.  From  these  and  such  like  things  I  try  to  learn  a  profitable 
lesson  and  receive  warning  that  my  decaying  tabernacle  will  shortly  fall. 
O  may  I  be  found  ready!  In  the  midst  of  all,  my  dull  heart  is  too  back- 
ward and  I  am  too  slow  to  believe  and  realize  the  precious  promises.  I 
still  feel  like  trying  to  get  safe  out  of  the  world  and  would  not  exchange 
my  hope  and  prospects  for  a  world! 

My  wife  keeps  up,  but  is  very  feeble;  her  health,  with  her  flesh  and 
strength,  appear  to  decline. 

My  children  and  their  families  are  well  as  far  as  I  know,  and  I  have 
pleasure  in  them. 

I  still  try  to  preach  some,  but  prospects  hereabout  are  unpromising. 

I  have  been  begging  (by  subscription)  money  to  build  a  Methodist 
meetinghouse  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  courthouse,  but  have  at  times 
been  ready  to  give  it  up,  but  have  at  length  determined  to  build.  The 


Appendix  507 

house  is  let  at  $274,  the  hall,  floor,  doors,  and  window  shutters.  This  is 
a  little  more  than  the  subscription.  The  house  is  to  be  twenty-four  by 
thirty  feet,  framed,  floors  and  weatherboarding  dressed.  Myself  and  son 
have  undertaken  it  and  are  bound  to  make  good  any  deficiency.  It  is 
intended:  1.  As  a  house  for  public  worship.  2.  A  schoolhouse.  3.  To  get 
a  Sunday  school  established  there  if  we  can.  We  hope  the  house  will  be 
fit  for  summer.  I  think  if  we  had  a  Nolly,  or  some  one  like-minded,  the 
ensuing  year,  who  would  make  exertions  for  Sunday  schools,  we  might 
probably  get  one  on  foot. 

I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  there  are  a  number  among  both  traveling  and 
local  preachers  who  wish  to  subvert  parts  of  our  Discipline  and  introduce 
dangerous  and,  I  fear,  destructive  innovations  in  our  Church.  They  ought 
at  least  to  show  us  a  better  plan  before  we  give  up  the  present.  If  they 
cannot  do  this,  would  it  not  be  best  to  advise  all  preachers  and  people 
who  are  dissatisfied  with  us  to  go  and  do  better,  to  let  us  alone  and  only 
give  us  notice  that  they  do  not  want  us  on  our  long-tried  plan,  and  the 
traveling  preachers  will  quietly  withdraw  and  go  and  serve  those  who  want 
them.  This  was  the  mode  pursued  in  1793-94  between  James  River  and 
Roanoke  and  answered  a  very  good  purpose.  They  talk  of  "mutual 
rights,"  and  if  they  would  add,  "mutual  labors,"  it  would  do;  but  for 
local  preachers  to  govern  the  traveling  preachers  would  be  big  with  much 
evil.  Who  among  them  will  go  to  Asia,  to  Africa,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  desire  and  seek  nothing  but  God  and  Souls,  and  unweariedly  do  and 
suffer  among  the  heathens  and  among  the  Indians,  what  many  are  now 
doing?  This  the  traveling  preachers  are  welcome  to.  I  should  be  loath 
to  be  one  that  threw  obstacles  in  their  way;  rather  I  would  wish  to  be 
among  those  who  would  act  as  auxiliaries  and  hold  up  rather  than  weaken 
their  hands.  I  do  not  think,  upon  mature  deliberation,  that  we  have  a 
great  deal  to  fear.  Their  views,  their  motives,  and  their  interests  will 
clash,  and  I  have  a  better  opinion  of  the  judgment  and  piety  of  our  mem- 
bers than  to  think  they  will  barter  the  traveling  for  a  settled  ministry, 
especially  when  they  will  have  to  give  boot.  Let  us  trust  God  with  his 
own  cause,  and  he  will  take  care  of  his  people.  If  any  traveling  or  local 
preacher  is  dissatisfied,  there  are  the  Baptists,  the  Presbyterians,  the 
Episcopalians,  etc.,  ready  to  receive  them; let  them  go  in  peace;  or  if  they 
can  raise  a  Church  of  their  own,  be  it  so,  only  let  them  not  rend  the  Church 
that  has  been  their  nursing  mother  from  their  infancy  and  to  which, 
under  God,  they  are  indebted  for  all  they  are  or  have  as  ministers. 

Perhaps  I  have  said  enough,  maybe  too  much.    I  would  hope  the  best. 

I  hope  God  will  preside  in  the  Conference,  that  harmony  may  prevail, 
and  the  stations  be  of  divine  appointment. 

I  see  many  good  accounts  in  the  Advocate.  I  want  to  see  and  feel  a 
revival  here  before  I  die. 

When  you  are  at  leisure,  let  me  hear  from  you.  Pray  for  your  old 
friend  and  fellow  laborer  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  IRA  ELLIS. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  REPLY  TO  BISHOP  GEORGE'S 
STRICTURES  UPON  HIS  VIEWS  OF  THE  SUSPENDED 
RESOLUTIONS 

THIS  letter  was  in  answer  to  the  criticisms  of  Bishop  George 
upon  Bishop  McKendree's  objections  to  the  Suspended  Reso- 
lutions as  unconstitutional.  We  have  already  had  occasion 
to  advert  several  times  to  a  difference  of  opinion  between 
these  equally  good  and  true  men  upon  this  subject,  a  difference 
no  doubt  honestly  entertained  by  both,  and  which  involved 
neither  mutual  affection  nor  confidence  in  each  other's  piety 
and  integrity.  We  insert  it  that  our  preachers  and  people  may 
fully  comprehend  the  question.  It  was  the  question  of  the 
day,  and  although  that  day  seems  to  have  passed  away  and  that 
question  received  its  quietus,  yet  the  same  old  issues  may 
return  to  disturb  the  Church  again. 

Dear  Bishop:  Yours  of  January  30  was  duly  received,  and  its  contents 
particularly  attended  to.  Your  remarks  on  responsibility,  the  improve- 
ment of  our  system  of  government,  and  the  constitution  will  be  the  subject 
of  my  observations. 

I'consider  the  responsibility  of  a  general  superintendent  in  our  Church 
(presiding  elder  or  any  other  preacher  in  charge,  as  an  officer),  and  his 
being  responsible  for  the  acts  and  deeds  of  all  the  preachers  under  his  care, 
as  ideas  so  clearly  distinct  as  almost  to  exclude  the  necessity  of  showing 
the  difference;  and  I  assure  you,  when  I  speak  of  the  former,  I  do  not 
embrace  the  latter.  I  cannot  think  that  when  you  thoroughly  examine 
my  letter  you  will  find  these  ideas  are  so  connected.  If  they  are,  I  ac- 
knowledge it  is  an  error  and  was  never  by  me  designed  to  be  conveyed. 

The  case  respecting  Bishop  Roberts,  which  you  introduced,  shall  il- 
lustrate my  view  of  this  subject.  If  our  rules  were  properly  administered, 
you  would  have  no  ground  to  say:  "If  sins  were  legitimately  imputed  to 
Bishop  Roberts,  then  all  the  blunders  of  four  years  may  be  imputed  to 
him  and  myself."  In  the  trial  of  that  case,  the  bishop,  or  some  member  of 
the  Annual  Conference,  should  have  charged  Brother  P.  with  neglect  of 
his  duty  as  pointed  out  in  the  seventh  answer  to  the  second  question, 
fifth  section,  on  the  duty  of  presiding  elders.  Then  if,  upon  examination, 
he  was  found  guilty  and  condemned,  he  must  have  given  satisfaction  or  been 
punished.  But  suppose  the  Conference  had  acquitted  him,  in  defiance 
of  rule  and  discipline;  then  let  the  superintendent,  by  virtue  of  his  con- 
trolling authority,  remove  him  from  office  as  presiding  elder  and  put  some 
one  in  his  place  who  would  enforce  the  rules  of  the  General  Conference. 
But  if  the  bishop  should,  by  encouragement  or  by  connivance,  suffer  the 
authority  of  the  General  Conference  to  be  disregarded  and  the  discipline 


Appendix  509 

of  the  Church  to  become  a  perfect  nullity  in  this  way,  let  him  be  tried  by 
the  General  Conference  and  suitably  punished,  not  for  "G.  P.'s  sins," 
nor  "for  the  acts  and  deeds  of  others,"  but  for  the  neglect  of  his  duty.  In 
this  way,  my  brother,  I  think  that  the  "bishops,  the  preachers,  and 
people  would  keep  out  of  difficulties,  and  such  mischievous  presiding 
elders  would  be  otherwise  employed." 

That  the  presiding  elders,  as  well  as  other  preachers  in  charge,  are 
amenable  to  the  Annual  Conferences  sufficiently  appears  from  the  fact 
of  the  examination  of  their  characters  before  that  body.  I  recollect  no 
expression  in  the  Suspended  Resolutions,  which  you  seem  to  think  will 
answer  this  important  purpose,  that  is  more  clearly  expressive  of  their 
accountability  to  the  Annual  Conference  than  the  present  form  of  our 
discipline  makes  them. 

But  if,  instead  of  this,  your  system  of  an  "identified  responsibility  at- 
tached to  every  officer  and  an  identified  tribunal  at  which  all  those  officers 
are  to  answer  for  their  administration"  were  established,  there  the  busi- 
ness would  end,  unless  the  condemned  officer,  whether  presiding  elder  or 
other  officer,  should  be  allowed  an  appeal  to  the  General  Conference,  as 
in  other  cases  of  episcopal  decision.  If  such  appeal  could  not  be  made,  of 
course  the  General  Conference  would  lose  their  legal  control  of  the  adminis- 
tration. But  this  plan,  as  I  understand  it,  would  involve  a  pretty  general 
revolution  in  our  system. 

I  have  no  objection  to  the  improvement  of  our  system  of  government; 
only  let  it  be  done  consistently  with  its  fundamental  principles,  and  then 
I  submit.  Nor  do  I  consider  it  difficult  to  obtain  improvements  according 
to  our  system.  On  this  sentiment,  if  the  Lord  permit,  I  may  give  as  ample 
proof  as  the  most  vociferous  among  us  have  done;  and  I  pray  for  grace 
to  do  it  in  a  way  more  becoming  the  religion  we  profess  and  the  relation 
we  bear  to  each  other  than  that  which  you  and  I  have  seen  exhibited,  to 
the  grief  of  our  souls. 

In  order,  my  dear  brother,  to  compare  ideas,  if  happily  we  might  har- 
monize in  our  great  work,  I  laid  my  views  of  our  constitution  and  system  of 
government  before  you  and  waited  in  expectation  of  such  corrections 
as  might  tend  to  compose  existing  difficulties.  But  while  you  tell  me  of  the 
ruinous  effects  of  "rigorous  constructions,  ambiguous  premises,  confusion 
in  conclusions,"  etc.,  you  neither  point  out  error  in  my  construction  nor 
present  me  with  one  more  favorable  to  our  situation.  Thus  I  have  hither- 
to been  left.  Then  by  some  I  have  been  set  up  as  mark  to  be  shot  at,  as 
loving  unbounded  power,  dividing  the  Church,  etc.,  and  all  this  for  not 
seeing  what  none  will  show  me  or  for  not  submitting  to  their  opinions 
without  due  consideration;  yet  the  javelins  and  arrows  of  death,  whether 
from  seen  or  unseen  agents,  go  on  this  side  and  that  side,  or  may  return 
from  whence  they  came,  for  anything  they  have  to  do  with  me.  The  Lord 
is  Judge,  and  the  righteous  Judge  will  give  righteous  judgment. 

However,  if  you  did  not  assist  me  in  the  expected  constructions,  you 
have  favored  me  with  an  illustration  which  I  presume  you  intended  should 
answer  all  the  purposes.  In  reference  to  my  remarks  on  the  Suspended 


510  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop^McKendree 

Resolutions,  which  I  think  bear  a  close  connection  with  the  foregoing 
view  of  the  system  of  government,  you  say:  "I  am  really  astonished  at  the 
idea  of  yourself  and  others  in  saying  the  principle  is  ceded  and  the  consti- 
tution may  be  ruined.  This  to  me  is  mystery  all  over.  It  appears  to  me 
there  would  be  just  as  much  propriety  in  saying  that  because  a  man  had 
obtained  liberty  to  take  a  twig  or  a  graft  from  his  neighbor's  tree,  he  then, 
by  virtue  of  that  liberty  or  grant,  had  a  right  to  cut  down  the  tree  and  take 
the  stock,  roots,  branches,  and  all  away.  Ambiguity  in  our  principles 
leads  to  ambiguity  in  our  conclusions;  and  if  there  is  not  mysterious 
ambiguity  in  saying  a  tree  is  ruined  because  it  is  pruned  and  one  or  two 
superfluous  limbs  taken  away,  I  am  uncommonly  bewildered,"  etc.  I  am 
prepared  to  submit  my  opinion,  as  it  relates  to  the  utility  of  the  change 
to  the  voice  of  the  General  Confernce.  Only  show  me  that  the  delegated 
General  Conference  were  as  fully  authorized  to  make  the  changes  as  the 
man  in  your  figure  was  to  take  a  graft  from  his  neighbor's  tree  and  my 
objections  immediately  cease.  But,  my  brother,  of  whom  was  this  liberty 
obtained?  Of  the  preachers  collectively?  or  of  the  superintendents?  or 
of  the  majority  of  their  own  body?  It  is  presumed  that  liberty  to  make 
this  change  was  neither  "obtained"  nor  asked  of  their  constituents;  and 
I  do  not  consider  the  superintendents  invested  with  authority  to  grant 
such  "liberty."  The  liberty  therefore  must  be  granted  by  the  delegated 
Conference.  But  this  I  must  consider  an  assumption  of  power.* 

You  say:  "The  power  ceded  in  the  resolution  as  an  abstract  principle 
is,  comparatively  speaking,  almost  a  nonentity."  By  considering  the 
power  abstractly,  which  you  admit  is  ceded  in  the  resolution,  you  seem 
to  exclude  every  idea  but  that  of  its  lessening  the  power  of  the  superin- 
tendents. But  it  is  evident  that  the  very  same  act  equally  respects  that 
power  and  the  form  of  discipline  by  which  that  power  is  conferred  and 
supported,  that  it  necessarily  affects  one  of  the  restrictions  on  the  powers 
of  the  delegated  Conference;  and  this  is  what  I  emphatically  call  the 
principle.  Therefore,  it  cannot  be  fairly  reduced  to  your  abstract  prin- 
ciple of  reasoning.  In  this  way  you  reduce  a  subject  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, in  my  estimation,  to  "almost  a  nonentity."  Were  I  to  dis- 
unite ideas  so  inseparably  connected,  and  were  you  to  say,  "Mysterious 
ambiguity!  mystery  all  over!"  I  really  think  I  should  stand  corrected. 

To  me  it  still  appears  evident  that  the  six  restrictions  on  the  powers 
of  the  delegated  General  Conference  are  equally  binding  on  every  class 
of  restricted  topics;  that  if  the  delegated  General  Conference  have  a 
legitimate  right  to  alter  one,  they  may,  in  the  exercise  of  that  right,  alter 
any  or  all  of  them,  and  so  ruin  the  constitution  in  tolo. 

Were  you,  my  brother,  deliberately  to  reflect  on  the  subject,  as  it  re- 
spects the  power  of  the  General  Conference  and  how  that  power  might 
affect  our  system  of  government,  you  might  hesitate  in  saying,  "I  am 
really  astonished  at  the  idea  of  yourself  and  others  in  saying  the 

IThia  sentiment  was  confirmed  by  a  considerable  number  who,  from  a  disposition  of  ac- 
commodation, voted  for  the  change,  not  so  minutely  examining  its  bearings,  but  who,  upon 
more  minute  reflection,  saw  their  error  and  voted  for  its  suspension. 


Appendix  511 

principle  is  ceded  and  the  constitution  may  be  ruined;  this  to  me  is 
mystery  all  over,"  and  be  able  in  some  good  degree  to  see  "why  it  is 
that,  understanding  each  other  so  long,  we  should  now  sail  abruptly  to 
opposite  points,"  and  possibly  admit  that  this  tree  ought  not  to  be  pruned 
until  they  have  obtained  liberty  to  do  so. 

I  hope  you  will  receive  my  assurance  that  if  you  should  think  any 
expression  too  hard,  or  of  improper  bearings,  it  is  by  no  means  designed; 
and  that  I  intend  no  harm  to  the  Church  or  to  any  individual,  much  less 
to  you,  on  these  subjects. 

Yours  affectionately,  etc.,  W.  McKENDREB. 

RALEIGH,  February  27,  1821. 


BISHOP  McKENDREE'S  PAPERS  COMMITTED  TO 
JOSHUA  SOULE,  DR.  WILKINS,  AND  T.  L.  DOUG- 
LASS 

IT  appears  from  the  following  letter,  written,  as  we  suppose, 
to  the  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  that  Bishop  McKendree  made 
provisional  arrangement  for  such  a  use  of  his  papers  as  may 
promote  the  cause  of  righteousness  and  truth  by  leaving  them 
to  J.  Soule,  Dr.  Wilkins,  and  T.  L.  Douglass,  to  be  published 
at  their  discretion. 

DR.  WILKINS'S,  May  5,  1823. 

Dear  Brother:  At  my  advanced  age,  accompanied  with  many  infirmities, 
it  becomes  me  to  do  all  things  with  a  more  direct  reference  to  the  close 
of  my  pilgrimage  than  at  a  period  when  youth  and  strength  afforded  a 
prospect  of  a  longer  stay. 

I  am  now  ready  to  leave  Baltimore  to  visit  the  Western  frontiers, 
especially  the  Indian  Mission.  It  may  please  the  Lord  to  preserve  me 
to  visit  the  Atlantic  States  again  or  to  finish  my  course  on  the  other  side 
of  the  mountain.  My  business  is  to  be  ready. 

In  traveling  through  the  United  States  in  that  department  of  the  work 
which  has  fallen  to  me,  papers  of  various  characters  have  accumulated 
upon  my  hands.  I  have  found  it  impracticable  to  carry  them  with  me 
and  have  therefore  deposited  them  in  a  trunk,  which  I  leave  with  my  old 
friend,  Dr.  Wilkins.  Considering  it  a  possible  case  that  events  may  tran- 
spire in  my  absence  in  which  access  to  those  papers  may  be  expedient,  I 
think  it  improper  for  me  to  make  them  absolutely  inaccessible.  I  there- 
fore authorize  you,  jointly  with  my  friends  Dr.  Wilkins  and  Joshua  Soule, 
to  examine  those  papers  at  your  discretion  and  to  refer  to  them,  if  in  your 
judgment  it  becomes  necessary  for  the  correction  of  error  or  for  the  good 
of  the  Church;  and  in  such  a  case,  to  make  any  use  of  them  which  you  may 
think  necessary.  It  is  my  desire  that  they  may  never  be  used,  either  be- 
fore or  after  my  death,  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  promoting  the 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness;  and  when  and  how  this  may  be  done, 
you  will  be  most  competent  to  judge. 

Yours  in  love,  W.  MCKENDREE. 


LETTERS  FROM  JOSHUA  SOULE  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

SUCH  had  been  the  state  of  Mr.  Soule's  health  for  some 
time  that  we  have  seen  Bishop  McKendree's  anxiety  for  his 
transfer  from  New  York  to  a  more  southern  latitude.  Asthma 
and  rheumatism  threatened  his  usefulness,  if  not  his  life.  He 
came  to  Baltimore  as  a  transfer  in  April,  1822,  and  at  once 
entered  earnestly  upon  his  laborious  duties,  which  were  rather 
too  onerous  for  his  strength .  Gradually,  however,  he  recovered 
his  health  and  became  a  blessing  to  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  to 
the  Conference.  He  was  at  the  time  this  letter  was  written  a 
bishop  elect,  having  been  elected  in  1820,  but  had  declined  ordi- 
nation in  view  of  his  opposition  to  the  Suspended  Resolutions. 
The  "controversy  "alluded  to  in  this  letter  was  about  these  reso- 
lutions. The  Church  in  Baltimore  and  the  Conference  seemed  to 
be  resting  on  a  volcano,  which  threatened  the  unity  and  safety  of 
Methodism.  Happily,  Mr.  Soule  went  there,  and  his  influence 
was  exerted  with  highly  conservative  effect.  His  old  friend, 
Stephen  George  Roszel,  had  charge  of  the  district. 

BALTIMORE,  August  28, 1822. 

Dear  Bishop:  I  have  hitherto  neglected  to  write  to  you,  not  knowing 
where  to  meet  you;  but  assured  that  you  would  be  at  the  Ohio  Conference, 
I  write  to  meet  you  there.  Nothing  very  important  has  transpired  in 
this  city  since  you  left  here.  It  is  believed  that  the  state  of  the  society 
is  somewhat  improved,  and  many  of  the  most  substantial  members  are 
greatly  encouraged  in  expectation  of  better  days.  But  there  is  much  to 
be  done  before  the  state  of  things  can  be  considered  really  prosperous, 
and  it  requires  time  as  well  as  labor  to  accomplish  it. 

Your  letter,  written  to  the  bishops  while  in  New  York,  is  in  my  posses- 
sion. I  found  it,  after  you  left  the  city,  with  other  papers  which  you  put 
into  my  hands  for  safe-keeping,  I  shall  preserve  it,  with  all  others,  subject 
to  your  order. 

I  have  heard  very  little  relative  to  the  subject  of  the  controversy  since 
I  came  hither.  I  have  met  many  of  the  preachers  in  town  and  at  two 
camp  meetings;  have  been  received  with  great  cordiality  and  apparent 
respect.  Prudence  seems  to  require  that  at  present  I  should  say  but  lit- 
tle. My  sentiments  are  known,  and  I  apprehend  no  man  expects  me  to 
change  them.  I  shall  strive  amid  all  circumstances  to  maintain  that 
course  of  prudence,  firmness,  and  dignity  on  which  I  hope  to  look  back 
with  a  conciousness  of  rectitude  and  satisfaction  from  every  future  period 
of  my  life.  Having  fixed  principles,  the  intervention  of  casual  circum- 
33 


514  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

stances  cannot  divert  me  from  my  course.  Retraction  must  be  the  result 
of  conviction,  and  that  conviction  must  be  that  my  principles  are  wrong. 

Your  friends  here  are  generally  in  usual  health.  Old  Father  Wilkins 
has  been  very  ill  and  was  not  expected  to  survive,  but  he  has  so  far  re- 
covered as  to  be  able  to  visit  his  children  and  the  house  of  God.  In  his 
sickness  he  appeared  like  an  ancient  patriarch,  waiting  with  perfect  resig- 
nation and  triumph  to  see  the  salvation  of  God.  Dear  Sister  Wilkins  is 
still  a  patient  but  great  sufferer,  under  her  old  affliction.  The  rest  of 
the  family  are  well. 

Dr.  Baker  has  been  very  ill,  life  despaired  of,  but  is  now  convalescent. 

My  health  is  a  good  deal  as  it  has  been  for  some  years.  I  have  been 
preaching  three  times  a  day  on  the  Sabbath  ever  since  you  left  us;  this 
has  for  the  two  last  Sabbaths  affected  my  breast  considerably.  Many  of 
my  friends  have  remonstrated  against  this  course,  but  I  know  not  under 
present  circumstances  how  to  avoid  it.  If  I  preach  but  twice  a  day,  I 
cannot  satisfy  the  white  congregations  without  neglecting  the  colored 
people  more  than  I  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  do.  I  have  entirely  dispensed 
with  ordinary  visiting,  attending  particularly  to  the  sick,  the  poor,  and 
such  as  require  official  duties.  What  will  be  the  result  of  my  coming  to 
Baltimore  I  cannot  tell,  but  my  fervent  prayer  to  the  Father  of  mercies 
is  that  it  may  not  be  in  vain. 

O  my  dear  Bishop,  I  fear  the  glory  has  in  a  considerable  degree  departed 
from  us!  Men's  minds  have  been  so  much  engaged  in  forming  schemes 
of  revolution  that  the  weightier  matters  have  been  too  much  neglected. 
In  many  instances  plans  have  been  made  by  our  ministers  for  a  future 
livelihood  which  have  necessarily  embraced  studies  foreign  from  the 
work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  These  studies  have,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  abated  that  holy  and  fervent  zeal  without  which  it  is  to  be  feared 
our  preaching  will  be  as  "sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal." 

May  the  Lord  revive  us  by  the  abundant  outpouring  of  his  Holy  Spirit! 

Yours  most  sincerely,  JOSHUA  SOULE. 

SECESSION  OF  THE  BETHELITES,  OR  AFRICAN  METHODIST 
EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  following  letter,  although  a  long  one,  is  interesting, 
and  replete  in  some  parts  with  historic  interest.  It  shows  how 
the  dissatisfaction  which  had  for  some  time  existed  between  the 
colored  people  in  the  North  and  the  white  preacher  finally 
culminated  in  the  secession  of  the  former  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  is  of  special  interest  to  Southern  Meth- 
odists at  this  time,  when  we,  under  very  different  circumstances 
and  in  a  very  different  manner  from  the  case  here  referred  to, 
are  about  to  organize  a  separate  colored  Church.  Whether 
the  colored  people  in  the  South  possess  sufficient  organizing 
and  administrative  ability  to  found  and  perpetuate  a  proper 
system  of  Church  government,  including  doctrines  and  disci- 


Appendix  515 

pline,  without  the  cooperation  of  the  white  race,  and  to  prevent 
subdivisions  and  disaffections  among  themselves,  is  a  problem 
which,  in  the  judgment  of  many,  remains  to  be  solved.  But  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  undertaken  the  task, 
and  every  friend  to  humanity  must  desire  it  may  prove  suc- 
cessful. Confidence  in  the  ultimate  success  of  this  attempt  will 
be  greatly  strengthened,  if,  in  forming  themselves  into  a  separate 
organization  they  shall  be  so  impressed  with  a  conviction 
of  their  need  of  advice  and  assistance  as  to  induce  them  to 
continue  so  to  seek  the  patronage  and  counsels  of  their  white 
friends  as  to  avail  themselves  of  the  aid  they  might  thus 
find.  In  the  meantime,  education  and  the  proper  exercise  of 
their  rights  as  freedmen  will  gradually  prepare  them  to  take 
upon  themselves  full  authority  and  manage  their  affairs  at 
their  discretion.  It  is  the  decided  opinion  of  the  author  that 
their  unity,  safety,  and  prosperity  would  be  greatly  promoted  by 
atemporary  continuance  of  the  supervision  of  their  white  friends ; 
and  so  believing,  and  feeling  a  deep  interest  in  their  welfare, 
he  can  but  look  forward  with  high  concern  to  their  initial 

proceedings. 

• 

Dear  Bishop:  The  continual  pressure  of  business  since  my  return  from 
the  Conference  at  Troy,  connected  with  my  feeble  state  of  health,  has 
prevented  my  writing  till  now.  I  have  much  to  say  to  you,  but  scarcely 
know  where  to  begin.  You  were  informed  of  the  course  pursued  by  the 
Philadelphia  Conference  in  reference  to  a  Memorial  of  the  Africans  in 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  other  places,  praying  for  the  patronage  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  These  Africans  had  broken  off  from 
the  Church  and  formed  themselves  into  an  independent  body  and  a 
distinct  and  different  title,  having,  at  the  same  time,  adopted  and  pub- 
lished a  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  in  which  they  secure  to  them- 
selves, independently  of  the  General  Conference  and  the  bishops  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  exclusive  right  to  all  legislative  and 
executive  power.  But  notwithstanding  this  extraordinary  position  of  the 
colored  people,  the  Philadelphia  Conference  passed  sundry  resolutions 
recommending  it  to  the  bishops  to  recognize  their  Conference  (about  to 
be  held  in  the  city  of  New  York)  by  presiding  officially  either  in  person 
or  by  proxy  and  to  ordain  such  as  might  be  chosen  by  them  to  the  office 
of  deacon  or  elder.  I  confess  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  when  I  read  the 
communication  containing  the  resolutions  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
but  that  surprise  was  increased  when  I  understood  from  unquestionable 
authority  that  Bishop  George  had  called  the  Africans  in  this  city  together 
and  read  to  them  the  resolutions  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  and  at 
the  same  time  encouraged  them  to  expect  patronage  till  this  was  done, 
before  the  sitting  of  the  New  York  Conference;  although  a  provision  in 
the  communication  from  the  Philadelphia  Conference  had  made  the  con- 


516  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

currence  of  the  New  York  Conference  necessary  in  order  to  carry  the 
resolutions  into  effect.  When  the  Memorial  was  presented  to  the  New 
York  Conference,  it  was  committed,  and  in  a  report  which  was  accepted  by 
the  Conference  it  was  conceded  that  the  African  Conference  could  not 
be  constitutionally  organized  by  any  number  of  Annual  Conferences; 
and  although  provision  is  made  in  special  cases  for  the  organization  of 
a  Conference  in  the  interval  of  the  General  Conference,  it  was  believed  that 
the  Africans  could  not  be  embraced  in  that  provision.  It  was  therefore 
thought  to  be  inexpedient  for  one  of  our  bishops  to  preside  in  the  Con- 
ference or  to  ordain  any  deacon  or  elder  elected  by  them.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  resolved  that  if  the  African  brethren  would  agree  to  be  subject 
in  common  with  the  white  members  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  such  case,  under  the  present  existing 
circumstances,  it  would  be  advisable  for  such  preachers  of  color  as  were 
regularly  constituted  to  be  appointed  to  take  charge  of  them  until  the 
next  General  Conference. 

When  the  course  of  the  New  York  Conference  was  communicated  to 
them,  their  disappointment  was  very  great,  and  they  expressed  much  sur- 
prise that  the  bishop  and  Philadelphia  Conference  should  not  know  what 
was  constitutional,  and  that  they  should  recommend  to  them  a  course  which 
could  not  be  covered  by  the  proper  authority  of  the  government.  Under 
these  considerations,  they  passed  a  resolution  to  abide  by  the  instruction 
of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  I  verily  believe  they  would  unanimously 
have  given  up  their  discipline  and  returned  to  their  former  standing  had 
it  not  been  for  the  resolutions  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  They 
appear  to  tremble  at  every  step  they  take,  and  fear  lest  they  should  pur- 
sue some  course  which  would  place  them  in  such  a  situation  as  to  forfeit 
the  patronage  of  the  white  societies. 

Our  Conference,  all  things  considered,  was  much  more  favorable  than 
I  had  feared.  The  Doctor's  1  character  passed  without  any  arrest  or  un- 
friendly remarks;  and  although  they  considered  him  in  common  with  other 
claimants  and  made  their  appropriations  accordingly,  yet  the  Doctor 
received  $50  from  the  moneys  appropriated  to  missionary  purposes,  with 
which,  however  small  it  was,  he  appeared  to  be  satisfied  and  pleased. 
Immediately  after  our  return  from  Conference,  I  communicated  to  him 
your  instructions  relative  to  the  $50  loaned  him  last  year.  He  seemed 
to  be  almost  overcome  with  a  sense  of  gratitude  and  obligation.  He 
requested  and  obtained  a  supernumerary  relation. 

With  respect  to  Mr.  Stillwell  and  his  party,  I  think  they  have  seen 
already  the  zenith  of  their  prosperity  and  glory  in  this  city;  and  if  no 
unforeseen  occurrence  proves  auxiliary  to  their  success,  I  apprehend  they 
will  appear  to  great  disadvantage  before  the  close  of  the  year.  All  my 
movements  toward  them  tend  to  this — let  them  alone.  If  they  are  left 
to  navigate  their  own  ship,  steer  by  their  own  compass,  and  determine 
their  latitude  by  their  own  quadrant,  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  issue.  The 
case  of  poor  Crawford  was  so  far  admitted  to  a  rehearing  at  the  Conference 

'Dr.  Phoebus. 


Appendix  517 

« 

as  to  have  a  committee  appointed  to  hear  and  examine  any  evidence 
which  might  have  transpired  subsequent  to  the  trial  at  the  previous 
Conference;  the  evidence  was  heard,  reported  to  the  Conference,  and 
all  the  documents  read.  The  opinion  of  the  Conference  was  in 
agreement  with  the  report  of  the  committee,  that  the  evidence  furnished 
did  not  go  in  any  wise  to  exonerate  the  accused.  As  the  admittance  of 
this  case  before  the  Conference  may  be  considered  as  an  extraordinary 
circumstance,  I  think  it  proper  that  you  should  understand  the  ground  on 
which  I  favored  such  a  course.  I  considered  that  Crawford  had  it  in  his 
power  to  involve  us  in  very  serious  difficulties  if  such  a  hearing  of  his 
evidence  was  denied.  Crawford  was  able  to  prove,  by  the  most  unques- 
tionable testimony,  that  the  President  of  the  Conference  where  his  trial  was 
had,  subsequently  to  that  trial,  said  that  all  the  evidence  on  the  trial 
was  ex  parte  evidence;  that  it  was  a  premature  trial,  and  a  hurried  case. 
I  had  heard  the  President  make  these  remarks,  and  I  knew  that  Crawford 
designed  to  make  all  the  use  of  them  that  he  could  in  case  the  Conference 
should  refuse  to  hear  him.  It  is  easily  perceived  that  it  would  be  highly 
improper  to  introduce  these  considerations  before  the  Conference.  I 
therefore,  in  the  first  instance,  stated  them  to  the  bishop,  in  the  most 
jpen  and  simple  manner,  with  a  view  of  the  advantages  which  might  be 
taken  and  the  uses  which  might  be  made  of  such  observations  from  him. 
The  bishop  felt  the  force  of  the  remarks.  Desiring  to  be  out  of  sight  as 
much  as  possible,  and  still  to  prevent  mischief  and  reproach,  I  gave  my 
view  of  the  subject  to  two  or  three  whom  I  knew  to  be  the  decided  friends 
of  the  bishop  and  whose  simple  word  without  argument  would  probably 
decide  the  case,  and  thus  it  was. 

Having,  as  far  as  my  feeble  state  of  health  and  the  unceasing  pressure 
of  business  would  admit,  taken  into  consideration  the  subject  of  your 
letter  relative  to  a  course  with  the  Suspended  Resolutions  of  the  General 
Conference,  I  am  inclined  to  favor  your  view  of  the  subject.  Bringing 
the  subject  before  the  Conferences  in  the  way  you  proposed  will  neces- 
sarily develop  the  principle  involved  in  the  controversy  and  bring  it 
before  the  whole  body  of  the  ministry  for  investigation.  This,  I  think,  is 
a  desirable  object,  for  as  yet  the  merits  of  the  question  have  been  but 
very  partially  understood;  and  the  more  I  become  acquainted  with  the 
views  of  the  preachers  in  this  part  of  the  work,  the  more  fully  am  I  per- 
suaded that  the  change  contemplated  by  the  resolutions  will  not  be  as 
popular  as  many  of  its  friends  suppose.  Indeed,  it  appears  to  me  that 
I  perceive  an  inclination  on  the  part  of  some  of  its  most  decided  advocates 
to  let  it  fall  asleep.  This,  however,  has  only  determined  my  mind  more 
fully  as  to  the  fitness  of  the  course  you  propose  to  take.  I  find  Bishop 
George  very  considerably  alarmed  (and  I  do  not  regret  it)  in  his  ap- 
prehensions of  what  may  be  the  result.  He  has  spoken  and  written  to 
those  who  have  appeared  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  the  change,  and 
the  burden  seems  to  be  entreaty  not  to  pursue  measures  which  may  ter- 
minate in  the  separation  of  the  body.  I  conversed  with  the  bishop  at 
the  last  Baltimore  Conference  plainly,  but  respectfully.  I  assured  him 


518  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

that  whatever  his  views  of  the  subject  might  be,  it  was  not  to  be  supposed 
that  men  who  had  sentimentally  embraced  our  system  of  things,  and  who 
had  conscientiously  and  sincerely  supported  that  system  for  many  years, 
would  tamely  give  it  up;  and  that  it  was  not  very  grateful  to  the  feelings 
of  such  men  to  have  their  opinions  and  their  arguments  treated  with  per- 
fect indifference  and  contempt,  yea,  merely  puffed  at. 

In  bringing  the  subject  before  the  Annual  Conferences,  the  real  sen- 
timents of  those  who  have  supported  the  resolution  will  probably  be 
developed,  and  we  shall  more  fully  understand  each  other.  As  far  as  the 
Conferences  act  upon  it  in  reference  to  the  constitution,  their  acts  will 
be  an  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  and  obligation  to  rest,  both  with 
the  preachers  and  people. 

This  is  a  very  desirable  object;  for  while  doubts  exist  with  respect  to 
the  constitution  itself  (I  mean  relative  to  its  validity),  all  must  be  in  an 
unsettled  state. 

If  the  course  should  result  in  an  acknowledgment  of  the  unconstitu- 
tionally of  the  resolutions  on  the  part  of  the  Annual  Conferences,  two 
important  objects  will  be  accomplished:  first,  the  validity  of  the  constitu- 
tion will  be  established;  and,  secondly,  a  barrier  will  be  raised  against 
future  encroachments  on  the  episcopal  prerogatives,  and  consequently 
a  point  will  be  fixed  where  the  minds  of  our  preachers  and  people  may 
rest  in  confidence  and  quietude.  Nothing  is  more  painful  than  uncertain- 
ty and  doubt  with  reference  to  subjects  of  the  deepest  interest  to  us.  I 
therefore  conceive  it  to  be  of  the  utmost  importance  that  we  determine 
our  landmarks,  and  that  they  never  be  removed  except  under  the  existence 
of  extraordinary  and  imperious  circumstances. 

Should  a  gracious  Providence  preserve  you  to  visit  the  Conferences 
again,  my  ardent  desire  is  that  you  may  see  a  more  happy  state  of  things. 

I  was  authorized  by  a  late  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  of  the 
Missionary  Society  to  report  to  the  bishops  that  there  was  $3,000  in  the 
treasury,  for  which  they  were  at  liberty  to  draw  on  the  treasurer.  One  hun- 
dred dollars  has  been  since  paid  to  the  order  of  Bishop  George,  leaving  the 
sum  of  $2,900  subject  at  present  to  episcopal  orders. 

In  consequence  of  my  feeble  state  of  health  through  the  last  winter, 
I  was  unable  to  be  out  evenings,  and  consequently  could  not  attend  the 
sales  of  books.  I  spoke  to  Brother  Hyer  concerning  the  apples  for  your 
friends  in  the  Mississippi,  and  he  and  others  assured  me  that  it  would  be 
extremely  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible,  to  get  them  to  the  persons  in 
a  sound  state;  and  even  if  it  could  be  done,  the  expense  would  be  very 
considerable,  so  that  it  was  thought  very  improper  to  attempt  to  forward 
them.  I  have  therefore  laid  out  no  money  for  you.  I  received  $20  as  your 
dividend  from  the  New  York  Conference,  which  I  here  inclose.  I  also 
inclose  $100  from  the  Book  Concern,  awarded  by  the  committee  for  your 
extra  expense.  The  committee  would  be  very  glad  to  receive  any  informa- 
tion from  you  relative  to  your  situation,  and  I  think  there  is  a  disposi- 
tion to  meet  the  case  of  your  affliction. 

The  documents  on  Indian  affairs  were  committed,  and  after  a  very 


Appendix  519 

elaborate  investigation,  the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  presenting 
a  Memorial  to  the  Congress  in  conformity  to  the  form  of  a  petition  which 
you  forwarded.  A  draft  of  the  Memorial  was  drawn  up  and  laid  before  the 
Conference,  but  as  the  session  was  far  advanced  before  this  business  was 
reported,  it  was  thought  proper  to  refer  the  draft  of  the  Memorial  to  a 
special  committee,  with  discretionary  powers  to  alter  or  amend,  as  may  be 
thought  proper.  Each  presiding  elder  is  to  be  furnished  with  a  copy  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  subscribers.  It  is  not,  however,  contemplated  to 
take  a  promiscuous  multitude  of  signatures,  but  rather  a  selection  of  names 
which  may  command  respect.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  there  is  a  policy 
in  existence  which,  if  successful,  will  defeat  the  object  of  missions  among 
the  Indians  in  a  very  great  degree.  The  toleration  of  a  common  and 
indiscriminate  trade  among  them  will  bind  them  to  a  savage  life,  corrupt 
their  morals,  and  produce  private  and  national  quarrels.  By  these  means, 
the  measures  adopted  for  their  instruction  and  improvement  will  be 
frustrated,  all  attempts  to  introduce  and  establish  the  arts  of  civilization 
and  the  habits  of  social  life  will  be  in  vain,  the  hopes  of  the  missionary 
will  be  blasted,  and  his  life  jeopardized. 

If  our  national  government  will  so  far  interfere  as  to  prohibit  this  ruin- 
ous traffic  and  extend  protection  to  those  who  may  be  disposed  to  exert 
themselves  to  bring  the  Indian  to  be  civil  and  religious  beings,  a  field  will 
be  opened  into  which  the  Christian  minister  should  rejoice  to  enter.  To 
talk  of  missions  abroad  while  so  many  wandering  tribes  of  untaught  men 
people  the  vast  forests  of  our  own  continent  is  nugatory.  Vast  multi- 
tudes of  these  savage  beings  are  within  the  geographical  limits  of  the 
United  States  and  are  on  terms  of  amity  and  friendship  with  the  govern- 
ment; but  still  they  are  strangers  to  God,  they  are  destitute  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, they  know  not  the  joyful  sound  of  the  gospel,  they  sit  in  darkness 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  they  worship  they  know  not  what. 

Whenever  I  reflect  on  the  situation  of  these  original  proprietors  of 
America  soil,  I  am  surprised  that  they  have  been  neglected  so  long.  We 
are  deeply  in  debt  to  them,  and  it  is  high  time  we  were  exerting  ourselves 
to  discharge  the  debt.  May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  smile  on  our 
feeble  efforts  and  succeed  the  labor  of  our  hands! 

Yours  most  sincerely,  JOSHUA  SouLE. 

NEW  YORK,  July  5,  1821. 

BALTIMORE,  September  29,  1823. 

Dear  Bishop:  The  particular  object  of  this  letter  is  to  communicate  to 
you  the  afflictive  dispensation  of  Providence  with  which  we  have  been 
visited  in  the  loss  of  our  presiding  elder.  Brother  Fechtig  departed  this 
life  last  Thursday,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  evening,  in  Georgetown,  D.  C., 
thus  leaving  the  district  destitute  of  a  proper  officer  in  the  administration. 
The  Church  must  feel  the  loss.  He  is  called  away  in  the  morning  of  life, 
of  usefulness,  and  of  promise.  But  the  ways  of  God,  though  mysterious, 
are  wise  and  just. 

A  number  of  the  preachers  on  the  district  have  been  much  afflicted  with 
sickness.  McCann,  Hamilton,  Hinkle,  and  Steir  have  all  been  confined 
with  fever,  and  some  of  them  hung  in  doubtful  suspense  between  time  and 


520  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

eternity,  but  as  far  as  I  know  are  at  present  convalescent.  It  will,  I  think, 
be  necessary  for  you  to  supply  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Brother  Fechtig.  You  are  probably  better  acquainted  with  the  situation 
of  the  district  than  I  am,  as  it  relates  to  men  and  things.  I  shall  not  even 
pretend  to  nominate.  We  have  been  mercifully  preserved  in  the  city 
from  severe  affliction  among  the  preachers,  although  Brother  Davis  has 
been  but  feeble,  and  in  consequence  of  the  dangerous  illness  of  his  father 
and  family,  and  other  causes,  he  has  been  considerably  absent  from  the 
station.  Brother  Kennerly  is  now  in  Virginia.  You  have  probably  heard 
of  the  death  of  our  old  friend  Wilkins,  and  Father  Hagerty.  They  have 
both  fallen  asleep  in  a  good  old  age,  ripened,  it  is  believed,  for  the  glorious 
harvest. 

Brother  Emory  was  in  town  yesterday,  .and  intends  removing  his 
family  here  next  week;  his  health  is  considerably  improved,  but  his 
family  are  very  much  afflicted.  Dr.  Watters,  President  of  the  College  on 
the  Eastern  Shore,  has  established  a  seminary  in  the  city  and  will  remove 
here  with  his  family  in  October. 

We  have  just  received  letters  from  J.  Summerfield.  The  British  Con- 
ference had  closed  its  session  in  much  peace  and  harmony.  A  melancholy 
occurrence  is  related.  A  coach  in  which  were  seven  preachers  on  their 
way  to  Conference  was  upset,  two  of  the  preachers  were  killed,  and  all 
but  one  much  injured. 

Richard  Reese  comes  over  to  America  in  the  spring  as  the  delegate  of 
the  British  Conference,  accompanied  by  a  junior  preacher. 

Brother  Summerfield's  health  is  considerably  improved,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  he  returns  to  the  United  States  before  spring. 

I  perceive  by  the  Minutes  that  the  New  York  Conference  has  three 
missionaries,  two  of  whom  are  on  Long  Island.  It  is  frequently  inquired, 
"How  are  these  missionaries  supported?  out  of  the  mission  fund?"  I 
cannot  answer  these  questions;  but  if  it  is  so  that  these  Conference  mis- 
sionaries are  to  be  supplied  from  the  general  missionary  treasury,  I  think 
it  requires  no  extraordinary  foresight  to  perceive  that  the  operations  of 
the  society  will  be  paralyzed  and  its  grand  object  ultimately  defeated. 
It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  auxiliary  societies  will  pour  their  treasures 
into  the  general  fund,  to  be  drawn  out  and  appropriated  to  local  and 
insulated  missions.  It  looks  like  taking  the  bread  of  life  from  the  destitute 
and  thinly  scattered  frontier  settlements  and  from  the  poor,  untutored 
Indians.  If  we  must  have  Conference  missionaries  in  this  way,  would 
it  not  be  more  noble  to  have  them  in  those  Conferences  where  there  is  an 
immense  colored  population  and  to  make  the  special  object  of  their  mission 
the  instruction  and  salvation  of  these  poor,  uncultivated  creatures? 

I  greatly  desire  to  hear  from  you  and  to  know  of  your  health. 

Yours  with  much  affection  and  esteem,  J.  SOULE. 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  SAMUEL  BAKER  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

THE  following  letter  is  characteristic  of  its  author.  It  is 
full  of  domestic  tenderness  and  of  Christian  sympathy.  The 
writer  can  attest  from  experience  as  to  these  traits  in  his  charac- 
ter, for  after  his  long  and  wearisome  tour  with  Bishop  McKen- 
dree  to  the  General  Conference  in  Baltimore  in  1824  he  reached 
the  city  in  poor  health  and  received  the  kindest  medical  at- 
tention from  him;  and,  again  in  1832,  he  enjoyed  the  hospi- 
talities of  his  refined  and  pious  family.  We  long  since  heard 
regretfully  he  had  passed  away,  leaving  the  memory  of  his 
professional  talents  and  his  virtues  as  a  Christian,  a  rich  legacy 
to  the  surviving  members  of  his  family. 

Dr.  Baker  loved  and  revered  Bishop  McKendree,  and  the 
Bishop  held  him  as  a  physician  and  Christian  in  the  highest 
estimation.  They  both  loved  Mr.  Summerfield  with  a  tender 
and  strong  affection,  and  the  respect  and  love  of  such  men  are 
worth  much.  But  doubtless  they  have  long  since  met  again, 
and  the  intercourse  of  such  spirits  in  the  realms  of  purity  and 
peace  must  constitute  no  inconsiderable  source  of  enjoyment 
in  that  blissful  world.  How  sublime  is  the  Christian's  hope! 

BALTIMORE,  September  24, 1825. 

My  Dear  Friend:  I  avail  myself  of  the  good  offices  of  our  mutual 
friend,  Bishop  Soule,  to  inform  you  that  through  the  gracious  dealings  of 
a  kind  Providence  we  are  still  preserved  and  our  health  is  rather  improved. 
Mrs.  Baker  has  been  traveling  to  the  North  this  season  and  has  received 
much  benefit.  Mrs.  Dickins  is  still  able  to  move  about,  although  she  is 
feeble  and  is  much  harassed  with  her  cough.  Miss  Eloise  and  our  children 
are  as  well  as  usual. 

Since  you  left  this,  we  have  met  with  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  our 
dear  Summerfield;  but  he  is  gone  from  a  state  of  suffering  to  one  of  re- 
joicing. His  memory  is  precious  in  our  little  circle.  He  was  dear  as  a 
brother;  and  when  we  revert  to  his  deportment  as  a  Christian,  his  character 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  the  suavity  which  marked  his  intercourse 
with  the  world,  we  may  truly  say  that  it  was  a  privilege,  rarely  experienced 
to  enjoy  such  society.  His  like  I  never  expect  to  see  again.  His  sun  rose 
beautifully,  shone  brilliantly,  is  now  beneath  the  horizon,  but  will  be  seen 
again  with  a  glory  far  transcending  the  utmost  conception  of  our 
imagination. 

Bishop  Soule  will  be  able  to  communicate  good  tidings  in  relation  to 
the  state  of  our  people.  Heaven  has  visited  us  graciously.  Many  have 


522  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

been  seriously  impressed,  a  goodly  number  have  been  converted,  and 
professors  of  religion  seem  to  be  contending  for  the  higher  degrees  of 
faith.  O  that  we  might  be  "clothed  with  humility"!  This,  this  is  the 
saving  virtue. 

We  should  be  much  pleased  to  have  your  society.  If  infirmities  should 
press  upon  you,  while  a  kind  Providence  places  it  in  our  power,  we  shall 
be  happy  in  offering  you  a  resting  place,  and  no  exertion  shall  be  wanting 
to  render  your  situation  agreeable. 

If  your  time  is  not  entirely  occupied  with  your  more  important  con- 
cerns, we  should  be  pleased  to  hear  from  you. 

All  the  family  desire  to  be  kindly  remembered  to  you. 

Yours  affectionately,  SAMUEL  BAKER. 

P.  S.  We  have  lately  heard  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Summerfield's  father. 

S.  B. 


LETTER    FROM    WILLIAM   McMAHON   TO   BISHOP 

McKENDREE 

REV.  WILLIAM  McMAHON,  the  writer  of  the  following  letter, 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  born  in  Dumfries,  1785  or  1786;  ad- 
mitted on  trial  in  the  Western  Conference  in  1812,  the  same 
time  at  which  Francis  Landrum,  Jonathan  Stamper,  Robert  W. 
Finley,  Thomas  D.  Porter,  George  Ekin,  and  John  McMahon, 
his  brother,  were  admitted;  and  traveled  Silver  Creek  Circuit, 
under  James  Ward  as  presiding  elder,  having  traveled  Mari- 
etta Circuit  the  previous  year,  under  the  employment  of  the  pre- 
siding elder.  In  1813,  he  was  under  John  Sale,  presiding  elder, 
upon  Hinkstone  Circuit.  In  1814,  he  was  ordained  a  deacon, 
and  appointed  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  and,  at  the  request  of  Bishop 
McKendree,  traveled  with  him  for  some  time.  In  1815,  he  was 
on  Shelby  Circuit;  in  1816,  on  Fleming  Circuit,  with  Samuel 
Parker  as  his  presiding  elder.  In  1817,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
Nashville  Circuit,  where  he  married  Mrs.  Perkins;  in  the  fall 
they  visited  her  father,  the  Hon.  Seth  Lewis,  of  Louisiana,  trav- 
eling in  company  with  Bishop  McKendree;  he  returned  in 
1818  and  was  appointed  to  Fountain  Head,  with  William  Strib- 
ling.  He  was  presiding  elder  of  Nashville  District  in  1819.  His 
history  since  that  time  is  too  well  known  to  require  detail.  As 
presiding  elder,  superintendent  of  Indian  Missions  among  the 
Creek  and  Cherokee  Indians,  and  agent  for  Lagrange  College, 
he  labored  with  great  industry  and  success.  As  a  preacher,  he 
has  had  few  equals.  He  has  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day  most  heroically,  and,  amidst  great  privations  and  sufferings, 
has  persevered  to  extreme  old  age,  and  yet  lingers  among  us,  re- 
spected for  his  integrity,  talents,  and  usefulness.  Few  men 
have  passed  through  so  many  trials  and  sufferings  or  more  de- 
served the  respect  and  sympathies  of  the  Church. 

At  the  time  of  the  writing  of  his  letter,  he  had  the  oversight 
of  the  Indian  Missions  in  the  Tennessee  Conference,  and,  find- 
ing that  no  appropriation  had  been  made  to  pay  for  an  inter- 
preter and  knowing  that  without  one  the  missionaries  appointed 
to  travel  through  the  Indian  Nation  could  accomplish  but  little 
good,  he  earnestly  solicits  advice  and  aid  from  Bishop  McKen- 
dree for  this  purpose.  Surely  the  good  old  Bishop  was  the  soul 
and  center  of  our  missionary  work. 

Dear  Bishop:  Shortly  after  I  left  you,  I  commenced  a  conversation  with 
Brother  Sullivan  on  the  most  effectual  method  of  serving  the  Cherokee 
Indians  and  of  subserving  the  design  of  the  mission  in  that  Nation  during 


524  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

the  present  year,  which  led  us  to  notice  an  obstacle  to  our  usefulness  which 
I  presume  had  escaped  your  attention  while  we  were  together,  which  is 
this:  our  greatest  wish  and  work  in  reference  to  the  Cherokees  is  and  will 
be  to  preach  the  gospel  among  them  as  effectually  and  extensively  as  pos- 
sible; but  this  cannot  be  done  to  purpose  without  an  interpreter,  and  much 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  man  who  may  be  thus  chosen  as  the 
medium  of  delivering  the  word  of  life  to  the  Indians.  They  must  have  con- 
fidence in  him,  or  he  can  do  no  good.  A  man  who  is  suitable  and  proper 
for  this  important  business  cannot  be  procured  unless  we  can  give  him 
some  compensation  for  his  services,  or  could  we,  indeed,  reasonably  re- 
quest it  of  him,  and  especially  when  he  knows  that  all  the  missionaries  de- 
signated for  this  great  work  are  allowed  an  equivalent  for  their  services. 
This,  I  think,  wou'd  be  hurtful  to  the  interests  of  the  cause  in  the  Nation. 
Now,  sir,  if  you  can  authorize  me  to  employ  a  man  whom  we  shall  approve 
for  this  work,  I  will  use  my  best  exertions,  and,  as  early  as  possible,  try  to 
secure  John  Brown,  if  he  has  not  yet  left  the  Nation  for  the  Arkansas, 
which  I  fear  is  the  case.  If  he  has  not,  I  am  sure  I  can  get  him,  and  of  all 
others  he  is  the  man  for  this  work.  He  is  a  good  man,  but,  like  most  other 
good  men,  he  is  poor,  and  could  not,  perhaps,  enter  into  our  employment 
for  a  less  sum  than  we  give  the  others;  or  would  it,  in  my  judgment,  be  ad- 
visable for  us  to  make  any  distinction  in  this  way  between  ourselves  and 
the  Indians.  But  I  hope,  sir,  you  will  not  misunderstand  me.  I  do  not 
wish  to  dictate  to  you;  I  desire  only  to  apprise  you  of  the  serious  difficulty 
which  lies  in  the  way  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  these  people  beyond  the 
neighborhood  of  the  schools.  If  you  find  yourself  authorized  to  cover  the 
additional  expenses  of  an  interpreter  and  think  proper  for  me  to  engage 
one,  please  to  write  immediately,  by  mail,  directing  to  Huntsville.  If  you 
do  not  incline  to  take  up  the  subject  officially,  please  to  advise  me  as  a 
friend  what  I  had  better  do;  for  I  do  assure  you  that,  situated  as  I  am,  I 
I  know  not  what  to  do  in  this  case.  Of  one  thing,  however,  I  am  very  cer- 
tain— t.  e.,  itinerant  preaching  in  the  Nation  will  be  a  fruitless  attempt 
without  some  one  to  go  with  the  preacher  and  interpret  for  him,  and  it 
will  not  do  to  trust  to  chance. 

There  is  one  more  item  which  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  mention.  Would 
it  be  proper  for  me,  should  I  find  in  the  course  of  the  year  that  one  of  the 
missionaries  is  likely  to  do  harm  and  that  the  Indians  have  lost  confidnece 
in  him  to  remove  him  and  send  some  other  preacher  in  his  place,  as  I  would 
change  preachers  on  my  district?  I  should  like  to  have  your  advice  on 
this  subject,  as  I  have  some  fears  that  this  course  may  become  necessary. 
I  hope  it  will  not;  but  should  it  be  the  case,  I  should  be  placed  in  a  very 
painful  situation  if  I  were  compelled  to  witness  an  evil  which  might  do 
much  injury  and  have  no  power  to  remedy  it. 

I  hope  you  are  well  and  happy.  May  the  God  whom  you  serve,  and 
whose  you  are,  go  with  you  till  you  lay  down  your  life  and  labors  together 
and  find  your  reward  in  heaven! 

Yours  very  respectfully,  WILLIAM  McMAHON. 

PILGRIM'S  RRST,  NEAB  HUNTSVILLE,  December,  1824. 


LETTERS    FROM    REV.    DR.    CAPERS    TO    BISHOP 

McKENDREE 
CHEROKEE  INDIAN  MISSION 

AT  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  held  in  Columbia,  Jan- 
uary 11,  1821,  Dr.  Capers  was  appointed  missionary  in  South 
Carolina  Conference  and  to  the  Indians. 

Having  entered  in  good  faith  upon  this  new  and  difficult  work, 
he  found  many  discouragements  in  organizing  the  mission.  He 
had  to  erect  houses,  raise  money,  plan  the  work,  and  select  the 
missionaries.  It  was  a  new  thing,  no  such  mission  having  been 
as  yet  fully  carried  into  effect  among  us  in  the  South.  It  was 
a  step  in  the  right  direction,  but  a  step  in  advance  of  the  spirit 
of  the  time.  Our  Missionary  Society  had  been  but  recently 
organized.  No  missionaries  had  been  appointed  to  labor  for 
the  Indian  tribes.  The  traveling  preachers  did  not  generally 
receive  the  small  salaries  allowed  them  in  the  Discipline;  and  if 
our  people  half  starved  their  preachers  at  home,  how  much  more 
likely  were  they  to  decline  to  give  to  the  Indians.  The  mis- 
sionary spirit  was  asleep  in  the  majority  of  our  members.  Dr. 
Capers  was  an  admirable  selection  as  an  agent  to  travel  through 
the  State  and  get  funds  to  begin  the  enterprise;  he  was  well 
known,  gifted,  popular,  and  active.  He  was  adapted  to  arouse 
the  torpid  and  to  give  respectability  and  impetus  to  the  cause. 
But  being  the  first  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  the  Church,  and 
having  had  but  little  practical  acquaintance  with  temporal  af- 
fairs when  he  began  to  project  plans  for  building  houses  and  for 
agricultural  operations  to  meet  the  expectations  of  the  Indians 
and  contributors,  he  soon  bound  he  had  a  very  difficult  task. 
Funds  came  in  slowly  in  spite  of  his  sermons  and  lectures.  He 
was  afraid  to  begin  to  build  lest  he  might  not  be  able  to  finish 
according  to  his  plams.  Suitable  men  were  wanting  to  take 
charge  and  teach.  The  friends  of  the  cause  were  expecting 
great  results  from  small  means,  and  the  Indians,  always  dis- 
trustful of  the  promises  of  white  men,  were  likely  to  become  im- 
patient and  still  more  suspicious.  At  the  date  of  this  letter 
nothing  had  been  done  except  the  collection  of  a  trifling  sum  of 
money,  while  a  feeling  of  desponding  anxiety  was  beginning 
to  come  over  the  minds  of  the  Indians  and  their  friends  and  an 
indefinite  foreboding  of  future  troubles  to  be  encountered  in 
the  unknown  path  before  them  made  the  good  old  Bishop  who 


526  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

had  projected  the  mission  and  his  gifted  and  pure-minded  agent 
a  little  restless  and  apprehensive.  Hence  letter  after  letter  was 
dispatched  to  the  Bishop.  His  judgment  and  energy  were  re- 
lied on,  and  before  the  end  came,  both  were  taxed  to  their  ut- 
most. The  reader  is  aware  that  two  missions  were  at  last  es- 
tablished, one  of  them  was  abandoned  after  several  years  of 
comparatively  unsuccessful  effort,  the  other,  and  principal  one, 
lived  on  struggling  with  difficulties  until  the  emigration  of  the 
tribe  to  the  far  West  and  doubtless  accomplished  much  good 
for  the  poor  natives  of  the  forest.  But  the  results  did  not  equal 
the  efforts  or  hopes  of  the  workmen. 

It  has  taken  a  long  time  to  impress  our  people  with  the  fact 
that  to  establish  a  first-class  college  upon  a  permanent  basis,  a 
foreign,  or  an  Indian  mission  for  extensive  usefulness  is  no  light 
work,  but  requires  much  money  and  suitable  men.  These,  with 
prudence,  economy,  and  perseverance,  may  do  a  great  work;  but 
failing  in  any  of  these  elements,  the  efforts  will  be  abortive  and 
the  result  disastrous. 

SAVANNAH,  March  8, 1821. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Father:  Your  favor  of  the  fifth  instant  came  duly  to 
hand.  I  see  a  good  reason  why  the  Bishop  should  be  cautious  of  an  indis- 
creet haste  in  the  establishment  of  missions  among  the  Indians;  and  that 
although  a  mission  of  the  simplest  form  might  not  cost  more  than  the  Con- 
ference missionary  may  collect  (not  to  speak  of  other  modes  of  obtaining 
moneys),  yet  such  an  establishment  as  would  embrace  agricultural  arts 
in  the  very  outset,  and  which  would  have  to  employ  mechanics,  agricul- 
turists, schoolmasters,  and  preachers,  each  separated  to  his  appropriate 
department,  would  require  more  to  support  it  than  we  can  obtain  by  any 
means. 

In  what  I  suggested  in  my  letter  to  yourself  and  Bishop  George  nothing 
was  contemplated  beyond  the  simplest  form  of  a  mission,  in  which  the  mis- 
sionary should  himself  be  preacher,  teacher,  and  whatever  else  he  can  be, 
only  performing  that  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  given  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  mission.  There  should  be  two  or  more  missionaries  at  each 
station,  mutual  in  their  labors  and  distinguished  from  each  other  only  as 
the  preacher  in  charge  from  his  junior  colleagues.  Such  a  mission,  I  pre- 
sume, we  can  now  support. 

If  Brother  Hill  might  not  answer  for  the  charge  of  a  mission,  could  he 
not  for  a  junior  missionary?  Pardon  me  that  I  name  him  to  you  again; 
you  name  no  other  person. 

Am  I  only  to  go  among  the  Indians  to  inquire  whether  they  will  receive 
missionaries?  This  is  known  already.  Am  I  to  make  engagements  with 
them,  to  be  fulfilled  at  some  distant  time  to  come?  They  are  impatient  of 
delay;  and  when  that  time  shall  have  arrived,  they  will  tell  us:  "Others 
have  been  more  prompt  and  are  preferred."  Besides,  what  warrant  have 


Appendix  527 

I  that  my  engagements  will  at  any  future  time  be  fulfilled?  It  would  seem 
from  the  objection  now  made  against  our  acting,  that  a  mission,  in  no  form 
of  a  mission,  ought  to  be  entered  upon  until  we  are  able  to  support  the 
most  costly  mission,  perhaps  we  should  wait  until  we  can  give  to  a  mission 
ten  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  If  so,  farewell  to  our  missions  forever. 

But,  my  dear  father,  suppose  we  act  with  the  means  we  have?  If  we 
cannot  make  a  splendid  establishment  in  which  the  arts  of  civilized  life 
shall  all  be  embraced  and  everything  be  done  that  can  better  the  temporal 
as  well  as  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  Indians,  suppose  we  do  what  we  are 
able?  Let  us  preach  to  them  and  teach  their  children  to  read  the  Bible  and 
to  pray.  Let  us  teach  twenty,  if  we  cannot  teach  a  hundred,  children.  If 
we  do  our  best,  God  will  help  us  to  do  still  better. 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  from  some  conversations  with  Col.  Richard  A. 
Blount  and  Colonel  Law  I  am  induced  to  hope  we  may,  if  we  will,  intro- 
duce the  gospel  among  the  Creeks.  Although  their  Council  did  not  long 
since  decline  to  receive  missionaries  and  the  sense  of  the  whole  tribe  may 
not  now  be  accordant  with  our  object,  yet  I  understand  that  many  of  them 
wish  for  schools,  and  that  among  them  the  Indian  general,  Mclntosh,  has 
very  decidedly  declared  for  schools.  Shall  I  visit  them?  Shall  I  improve 
any  advantages  that  may  be  given  me  to  institute  a  mission  among  them? 
How  shall  I  do  it?  You  will  readily  perceive  that  even  in  the  simplest  form 
of  a  mission,  much  preparation  must  precede  it.  Land  must  be  opened, 
houses  built,  provisions  procured,  etc.  Now,  if  Brother  Hersey  may  hold 
our  moneys  and  oversee  the  execution  of  the  work  among  the  Choctaws, 
who  shall  do  it  with  the  Creeks  or  the  Chickasaws  or  the  Cherokees?  I  can 
choose  a  spot  for  the  mission,  can  say  how  much  ground  should  be  opened, 
and  what  houses  built  in  a  given  time,  what  provisions  ought  to  be  pro- 
cured, etc.,  and  can  limit  the  amount  to  be  expended  in  each  of  these  par- 
ticulars, and  can,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time,  see  that  all  shall  have  been 
done  and  settled  for;  but  in  the  interim  I  must  be  differently  occupied  and 
at  a  distance  from  the  scene  of  operations.  Now,  if  you  would  direct  me 
to  some  person  who  might  act  in  this  behalf,  remain  on  the  spot  and  over- 
see the  work  preparatory  to  a  mission,  all  might  be  easy;  and  without  this, 
I  cannot  see  that  my  visiting  the  Indians  will  be  any  better  than  a  waste  of 
time.  The  person  thus  employed  would  be  in  a  situation  favorable  to  im- 
provement in  many  things  that  are  of  importance  to  a  missionary  and  al- 
though upon  the  institution  of  the  mission  he  should  be  but  the  junior  mis- 
sionary, still  he  has  gained  an  advantage  that  shall  be  secured  to  the  mis- 
sion. I  repeat  it,  I  would  act  with  caution,  I  would  not  expend  the  amount 
of  my  collections,  but  I  would  do  something,  even  although  I  might  not  be 
able  to  do  everything. 

I  notice  with  much  feeling,  reverend  and  dear  father,  what  you  say  of 
your  health.  I  would  not  burden  you,  but  yet  I  was  made  a  missionary  by 
you;  and  when  you  did  so,  you  gave  me  to  understand  that  you  would  ex- 
pect me  to  do  the  work  of  a  missionary.  If  your  health  is  not  worse  than 
it  was,  I  must  look  to  you.  I  have  no  hope  that  I  will  be  able  to  do  the 
work  of  a  missionary  unless  you  are  able  to  do  that  of  a  bishop.  I  have  had 


528  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

a  letter  from  Bishop  George.  I  say  again,  I  must  look  up  to  you.  In  the 
address  of  my  letter  I  acted  from  courtesy,  I  now  write  to  you  alone. 

I  have  traveled  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles,  collected  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  preached  forty-eight  sermons.  You  directed  me,  and  I  have 
pledged  myself  to  the  people.  The  moneys  collected  from  them  for  the  ex- 
clusive purpose  of  Indian  Missions  can  be  applied  to  no  other  use.  As  a 
candid  man,  I  must  see  to  it  that  the  Indians  have  the  benefit  of  the  charities 
intended  for  them,  however  worthy  another  object  may  be.  Am  I  to  collect 
moneys  that  may  never  be  appropriated  at  all,  or  appropriated  to  an  ob- 
ject not  contemplated  by  the  people?  Rather  than  this,  I  would  myself 
go  and  carry  the  bounty  of  the  people  to  the  Indians  in  Ohio,  or  even  in 
Canada.  In  this  I  seek  no  honor,  no  distinction,  I  only  mean  to  be  honest 
to  you,  to  the  Conference,  to  the  people,  to  the  Indians,  and  to  God.  I 
mean  not  to  make  myself  anything.  I  would  not  knowingly  interfere  with 
the  work  of  the  bishops,  even  if  I  could.  I  would  not  act  without  your  order; 
but  pray  order  me,  and  let  not  the  expectation  of  the  many  who  contribute 
to  this  good  work  (and  who,  from  the  best  feelings,  will  be  anxious  to  know 
what  disposition  shall  have  been  made  of  their  bounty)  be  disappointed. 

Your  dutiful  and  most  affectionate  son  in  the  gospel,        W.  CAPERS. 

DR.  CAPERS  IN  TROUBLE. 

SAVANNAH,  April  19, 1821. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  I  have  now  gone  over  all  that  part  of  the  Confer- 
ence which  lies  south  of  a  line  drawn  from  Beaufort,  by  Black  Swamp, 
Waynesboro,  Louisville,  Sandersville,  to  Scott's  Ferry,  on  the  Oconee.  I 
am  now  about  to  remove  my  family  into  Sumter  District,  South  Carolina. 
The  extreme  depression  of  the  price  of  cotton  and  consequent  embarrass- 
ments of  both  town  and  country  people  operate  against  the  collections. 
The  whole  amount  collected  up  to  this  date  is  $1,278.87}^. 
.«  ......•••......*..«• 

My  last  to  you  (at  Baltimore)  was  written  under  an  impression  that  my 
letter  to  the  bishops  (at  Raleigh)  had  not  given  satisfaction,  and  that  all 
it  proposed  relative  to  the  engagements  that  might  be  entered  into  for  the 
Institution  of  a  mission  or  missions  among  the  Indians  was  objected  to, 
and  this,  lest  we  should  overdo  our  means  or  act  incautiously  in  some  of  our 
engagements. 

With  regard  to  the  means  necessary  for  the  support  of  a  mission,  I  have 
tfiven  freely  my  views  in  my  last.  To  me  it  would  appear  that  a  proper 
caution  would  respect  the  extent  of  any  establishment  that  might  be  un- 
dertaken, no  less  than  the  undertaking  one  at  all. 

It  was  certainly  a  great  misfortune  to  me  (and  I  fear  to  the  cause)  that 
(  entered  upon  this  work  without  knowing  what  might  be  expected  of  me. 
t  everywhere  told  the  people  that  as  soon  as  I  could  obtain  means  to  make 
a  beginning,  I  would  visit  the  Indians  and  that  the  amount  of  my  collec- 
tions would  determine  the  extent  of  our  establishment  among  them.  I  was 
even  so  sanguine  as  to  say  I  expected  to  go  out  in  April,  immediately  upon 
having  gone  over  that  section  of  my  work,  which  I  have  now  accomplished, 
and  I  hoped  that  my  having  gone  and  undertaken  among  the  Indians  would 


Appendix  529 

much  increase  my  collections  afterwards.  At  present  I  owe  it  to  charity  if 
I  am  not  regarded  more  ready  to  promise  than  to  perform.  I  would 
go,  if  it  were  only  to  save  my  credit;  but  could  this  justify  the 
loss  of  two  or  three  months  from  the  collections?  Surely  if  I  go  it  should  be 
to  accomplish  something  more  than  barely  the  seeing  and  conversing  with 
the  Indians  and  something  better  than  the  postponement  for  a  year  of  the 
work  I  might  engage  to  do.  But  how  can  I  ever  visit  them  to  purpose  unless 
there  be  some  one  to  remain  on  the  spot  and  carry  into  effect  our  stipula- 
tions? Not  indeed  to  open  a  school  immediately,  but  first  to  have  the  house 
built  and  the  grounds  cleared  when  the  school  shall  be  established.  This 
must  require  time  as  well  as  the  personal,  constant  oversight  of  some  proper 
person.  If  there  be  an  objection  to  my  acting  in  the  pro  tern,  employment  of 
such  person,  as  proposed  in  my  letter  to  the  bishops,  I  can  only  say  that  the 
necessity  of  the  case  appeared  to  me  to  require  it;  but  I  regarded  it  as  admis- 
sible only  in  an  extreme  case  and  with  the  approbation  of  the  bishops,  and 
even  then  not  to  be  extended  to  the  traveling  preachers.  The  bishops  alone 
can  obviate  the  necessity  for  such  a  procedure.  Will  they  do  it?  I  named 
Brother  Hill;  he  was  objected  to;  but  who  may  be  employed  rather  than  he? 
I  can  prefer  no  one,  indeed,  I  know  no  one;  and  the  bishops  neither  appoint 
nor  direct  to  one.  In  the  meantime  my  instructions  are  given  for  the 
present  year. 

I  have  done  what  I  could  to  met  the  duties  assigned  me,  and  in  this  I 
have  pledged  myself  to  the  people.  They  expect  not  merely  that  I  will  go 
to  the  Indians,  but  that  I  will  use  all  proper  means  to  f aciliate  the  establish- 
ment of  a  mission  or  missions  among  them.  After  having  obtained  their 
money,  how  shall  I  tell  the  people  that  the  work  is  postponed  until  after 
the  next  Conference?  Had  I  not  better  go  myself  and  remain  among  the 
Indians,  if  it  were  only  to  hide  my  mortification?  Or  in  what  would  the 
cause  be  benefited  were  I  to  go  unable  to  do  anything,  and  upon  my  return 
report  long  rides  and  talks  held  to  no  purpose? 

My  instructions  directed  me,  I  pledged  myself  to  the  people,  and  have 
I  shrunk  from  so  sacred  an  obligation?  So  it  may  seem,  perhaps  it  must 
seem  so,  but  I  am  not  conscious  that  it  is  so:  and  I  may  add  I  never  could 
have  consented  to  be  placed  in  such  a  point  of  light. 

I  have  received  a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  War  and  a  letter 
from  Mr.  McKinney.  The  former  consists  of  two  printed  circulars  stating 
the  conditions  and  extent  of  the  government's  equal  patronage  and  aid. 
The  letter  of  Mr.  McKinney  would  be  a  valuable  introduction  to  the  In- 
dians or  others.  I  doubt  we  could  not  shortly  derive  aid  from  government, 
even  if  we  begin  a  mission.  They  look  directly  to  the  things  that  are  tem- 
poral. 

With  the  sincerest  and  most  dutiful  regards,  your  son  in  the  gospel, 

W.  CAPERS. 
DR.  CAPERS  RELIEVED. 

COLUMBIA,  S.  C.,  July  2,1821. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Brother:  Your  kind  and  encouraging  letter  of  May  16 
reached  my  brother's  just  after  I  had  left  there  upon  an  excursion  to  George- 

34 


530  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

town  and  Charleston.  Upon  my  return  (quite  lately),  I  had  the  great 
pleasure  to  receive  it  and  a  communication  from  Colonel  McKinney  and 
two  letters  of  introduction  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  one  to  the  agent  for 
the  Creek  Nation  and  the  other  to  agents  and  superintendents  of  Indian 
affairs. 

I  cannot  tell  you  how  exquisitely  I  felt  upon  reading  your  letter.  I 
could  have  thanked  you  a  thousand  times  for  the  tenderness  with  which 
you  regard  me,  and  consider  those  letters  of  March  and  April,  which  I  had 
feared  might  betray  too  much  my  disappointment  and  were  written,  per- 
haps, too  strongly.  But  how  shall  I  thank  you  for  having  appointed  a 
missionary  committee  and  for  instructing  me  to  choose  a  man  or 
two  and  dispose  of  them  among  the  Indians?  This  was  to  define  the 
words  of  my  original  instructions  (to  use  all  proper  means)  in  the  very 
fullest,  best  sense  I  could  have  desired.  The  money  first;  and  then  the  men. 
And  surely,  for  a  mission,  and  to  faciliate  the  establishment  of  one,  both  are 
proper  means,  and  both  should  be  used,  but  only  at  the  instance  of  a  bishop. 

At  the  date  of  my  last  letter  I  had  gone  over  that  part  of  my  work  which 
lay  conveniently  to  Savannah  and  was  about  to  leave  that  place  with  my 
family  for  Sumter  District.  My  son's  illness  detained  us  a  week,  and  then 
we  were  much  delayed  upon  the  road  by  rain  and  high  waters.  Over  one 
creek  I  swam  in  my  carriage  while  my  family  and  baggage  were  carried 
upon  men's  shoulders  on  logs  sunk  a  foot  under  water.  At  others,  I  was 
6bliged  to  drive  over  floating,  loose  bridges  or  lay  bridges  that  were  broken 
up  or  have  the  carriage  pulled  by  hands  where  the  horses  could  not  go  with 
it,  and  these  plunged  through  separately,  or  even  to  use  a  canoe  where  we 
should  have  had  a  dry  causeway.  We  were  ten  days  upon  the  road,  and 
at  last  arrived  safely  and  all  well.  We  now  had  excessive  rains  for  several 
weeks;  and,  as  I  greatly  desired  to  take  my  daughter  Anna  to  her  grand- 
mother, I  waited  ten  days  more  in  hope  of  weather  that  might  allow  of  my 
doing  so.  At  last,  and  not  before  I  had  become  very  weary  of  my  con- 
finement, I  set  out  without  her  for  Georgetown  and  Charleston.  By  these 
delays  my  collections  were  interrupted  from  April  20  to  as  late  a  period  in 
May.  Since  that  time  my  collections  have  amounted  to  about  $950,  mak- 
ing the  whole  amount  $2,200,  a  sum  less  than  I  had  hoped  to  obtain,  but 
not  very  inconsiderable  when  the  exceeding  scarcity  of  money  and  the  gen- 
eral embarrassments  of  the  people  are  taken  into  account;  besides  that,  I 
dun  no  man.  I  always  remember  that  I  may  not  obtain  one  dollar  to-day 
in  such  a  way  as  might  hinder  two  dollars  to-morrow.  I  must  get  money 
for  the  mission  from  men  who  are  to  be  made  the  friends  of  the  mission. 
To  make  friends  is  the  best  way  to  get  money. 

After  I  had  relinquished  my  purpose  of  visiting  the  Indians  in  the  spring, 
I  only  stated  to  the  congregations  that  the  bishops  had  advised  me  to  em- 
ploy a  longer  time  within  the  limits  of  the  Conference  that  I  might  be  fully 
prepared  before  I  should  introduce  a  mission  among  the  Indians,  and  that 
probably  I  would  not  visit  them  before  autumn.  In  Charleston,  the  advice 
of1  the  brethren,  Myers  and  W.  M.  Kennedy,  approved  this  arrangement; 
and  they  recommended  that  if  no  explicit  direction  should  be  had  from  you 


Appendix  531 

in  the  meantime,  I  should  in  the  fall  of  the  year  act  upon  the  plan  I  had  be- 
fore proposed  and  which  you  have  now  approved,  construing  your  letter 
rather  into  an  advisory  caution  than  a  refusal  of  what  I  had  asked. 

Perhaps  I  cannot  now  do  better  than  to  visit  the  Creeks  sometime  late 
in  August  or  early  in  September.  If  they  treat  with  me,  I  may  immediate- 
ly return  and  make  arrangements  for  a  mission  among  them  and,  locating 
a  missionary  there,  proceed  to  the  Choctaws;  or,  if  the  Creeks  refuse  to  re- 
ceive us,  I  will  go  on  to  the  Choctaws. 

I  cannot  say  that  it  is  as  easy  a  matter  as  I  expected  to  find  persons 
willing  and  capable  to  serve  the  Indians.  Brother  Christian  G.  Hill  stands 
very  decidedly  preferable  to  any  whom,  as  yet,  I  may  have  found;  and,  as 
for  some  time  past  nothing  has  been  said  to  him  on  the  subject,  thinking 
that  either  the  preacher  whom  Bishop  George  so  highly  approved  or  some 
other  person  or  persons  would  be  directed  into  the  work,  this  may  be  the 
principal  cause  of  delay  in  future. 

I  have  not  had  any  communication  from  Bishop  George  since  that  which 
I  mentioned  to  you.  I  do  not  know  what  preacher  he  preferred  or  even  to 
what  tribe  the  Indian  he  met  with  belongs. 

With  the  most  respectful  and  affectionate  regard,  your  son  in  the  gospel. 

WILLIAM  CAPERS. 


LETTER  FROM  COLONEL  McKINNEY  TO  DR.  CAPERS 

THE  letter  from  Colonel  McKinney,  to  which  Dr.  Capers 
refers  with  so  much  satisfaction  in  his  last  letter,  is  given  below 
and  justifies  some  notice. 

Mr.  Monroe,  in  entering  upon  his  second  presidential  term 
in  March,  1821,  retained  Mr.  John  C.  Calhoun  as  Secretary  of 
War,  and  Col.  Thomas  L.  McKinney  was  placed  in  charge  of 
the  "Indian  Trade  Office"  by  Mr.  Calhoun.  It  was  fortunate 
for  Bishop  McKendree's  plan  of  attempting  to  Christianize 
the  Indian  tribes  that  at  this  juncture  these  gentlemen  occupied 
positions  in  the  civil  government  so  closely  connected  with  his 
benevolent  purposes.  We  have  already  seen  how  promptly  and 
efficiently  Mr.  Calhoun  had  interposed  in  behalf  of  missionary 
operations  among  the  Indians,  and  we  perceive  now  how  faith- 
fully his  subordinate  officer  carried  out  the  views  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  Secretary  of  War.  Indeed,  this  letter  not  only 
evinces  the  fidelity  of  the  officeholder  but  the  sympathies  of  a 
noble  Christian  heart  toward  the  unfortunate  Indians.  We 
have  understood  the  writer  was  a  Christain,'  and  the  letter 
justifies  the  report.  Has  the  day  passed,  never  to  return,  when 
the  high  offices  of  our  great  country  shall  be  held  and  admin- 
istered, not  for  private  and  personal  benefit,  but  for  the  public 
weal? 

Mr.  McKinney  was  intimately  acquainted  with  Bishop  Mc- 
Kendree  and  entertained  for  him  the  greatest  respect.  Was  it 
not  fortunate  for  the  Church,  and  especially  for  the  cause  of 
missions,  that  one  held  deservedly  in  such  estimation  for  wis- 
dom, energy,  and  purity  of  character  was  the  recognized  leader 
of  the  cause  of  missions? 

Rev.  William  Capers. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  twenty-fourth  ultimo,  con- 
taining an  extract  from  Bishop  McKendree's  instructions  to  you,  directing 
you  to  "travel  extensively  within  the  limits  of  South  Carolina  Conference 
in  order  to  do  the  work  of  a  missionary;  to  make  collections  for  missionary 
purposes,  and  especially  for  the  support  of  such  establishments  among  the 
Indians  as  may  be  formed  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Methodist 
Conference;  to  visit  the  Indians  (Cherokees  in  particular)  in  order  to  as- 
certain the  most  eligible  situation  for  a  mission,  or  missions,  among  them; 
to  facilitate  by  all  proper  means  the  establishment  of  such  mission  or  mis- 
sions." 

Such  an  undertaking  cannot  be  otherwise  than  gratifying  to  every  man 


Appendix.  533 

who  has  thought  upon  the  condition  of  our  Indians  and  the  obligations 
which  bind  us  to  improve  it.  To  see  it  countenanced  by  the  Reverend 
Bishop,  whose  liberal  and  Christian  virtues  I  so  highly  appreciate  and  who 
has  not  given  his  sanction  to  the  measures  in  which  you  are  about  to  en- 
gage without  the  deepest  and  most  thorough  investigation  of  the  subject, 
augurs  favorably  for  the  result  of  the  undertaking.  I  proffer  you  my  most 
earnest  wishes  for  your  success.  I  doubt  not  the  entire  practicability  of  a 
thorough  change  in  the  aboriginal  character  by  the  agency  of  missions. 
Facts  are  now  common  going  to  demonstrate  their  readiness  to  exchange 
their  habits;  but  especially  to  the  rising  generation  does  this  matter  belong. 
And  who  would  not  contribute  a  mite  toward  that  happy  change  which 
embraces  in  the  limits  of  a  single  generation  a  new  race  of  men,  a  change 
from  savageism  to  civilization,  from  paganism  to  Christianity?  Who 
would  not  contribute  a  mite  toward  renewing  the  face  of  the  desert  and 
introducing  in  the  place  of  barbarism  and  deeds  of  blood  the  anthems  of 
praise,  kindness,  and  social  and  Christian  blessings?  This  is  the  work 
which  missionaries  go  to  accomplish.  The  way  is  open.  The  Indians, 
feeling  their  necessity,  are  calling  for  help,  and  their  arms  are  in  many 
places  wide  open  to  receive  the  benevolent  agencies  which  are  going  in 
from  so  many  points  for  their  relief. 

Among  the  Cherokees  a  most  valuable  establishment  is  up  and  in  oper- 
ation. It  is  called  Eliot  and  is  in  charge  of  the  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  S.  Worcester.  Its  immediate  and  personal  head  is  the  Rev.  Cyrus 
Kingsbury,  a  man  peculiarly  well  fitted  for  the  charge.  In  going  amongst 
the  Cherokees,  it  would  be  advisable  to  harmonize  with  the  previous  ex- 
isting establishments  for  many  reasons:  first,  the  work  is  the  same;  second, 
the  parties  to  be  benefited  are  the  same;  third,  the  motives  of  those  who 
enter  upon  it  are  the  same;  and,  fourth,  the  Indians,  respecting  and  even 
loving  the  Eliot  establishment,  would  be  more  likely  to  recognize  you  as  a 
laborer  having  the  good  will  of  their  Eliot  friends. 

I  do  not  mean  that  you  do  more  than  cultivate  a  good  understanding 
with  Mr.  Kingsbury.  Tell  him  from  me,  I  know  and  approve  of  your  mis- 
sion and  believe  it  is  in  harmony  with  his  own  benevolent  plans.  Tell  him, 
for  my  sake  and  the  Indians,  to  take  you  by  the  hand  as  a  brother.  There 
is  room  enough  for  us  all.  All  you  will  have  to  regard  will  be  harmony  in 
your  operations,  and  surely  there  is  no  necessity  for  discord.  I  know  you 
would  be  the  last  to  promote  anything  but  peace  and  good  will. 

If  there  is  anything  in  which  you  think  I  can  be  useful  to  you,  pray 
command  me.  I  may  not  live  to  hear  that  the  face  of  the  desert  is  changed, 
but,  like  Abraham,  I  see  the  day  and  rejoice  in  it. 

Very  respectfully  and  truly  yours,  THOMAS  L.  McKiNNEY. 

INDIAN  TRADE  OFFICE,  GEORGETOWN,  February  8, 1821. 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  JOHN  EMORY  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

His  REPLY  TO  BISHOP  WHITE 

IN  its  early  days  Methodism,  both  in  England  and  America, 
was  destined  to  struggle  against  opposition  from  every  quarter. 
Although  her  Articles  of  Faith  were  but  a  concise,  clear,  and 
honest  epitome  of  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  as  were  also  her 
Rules  and  general  Church  polity,  yet  Calvinists  of  every  hue 
and  order  attacked  her  doctrines  with  a  unanimity  and  fierceness 
which  threatened  her  ruin.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Wesley's  life  was 
long  spared  and  his  pen  most  effectually  defended  the  truth. 
God  also  raised  up  Mr.  Fletcher,  of  Madeley,  who,  although  a 
St.  John  in  love  and  purity,  had  yet  such  logical  acumen  of  mind, 
such  loyalty  to  truth,  and  such  classic  beauty  of  style  that  he 
wielded  against  the  errors  of  his  opponents  an  Ithuriel's  spear 
from  which  they  shrank  back  discomfited.  In  the  United  States 
the  contest  was  prolonged,  but  fierce  attacks  gradually  be- 
came less  frequent  and  less  violent,  until  discretion  has  taught 
our  doctrinal  opposers  to  exercise  more  prudence. 

In  preparing  the  Sunday  service  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,  Mr.  Wesley  abridged  the  Liturgy  and  Thirty- 
nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  which,  with  the  Hom- 
ilies, he  was  accustoned  to  refer  in  defense  of  his  views  on  doc- 
trinal and  experimental  religion  as  in  harmony  with  the  word 
of  God.  And  yet,  as  in  England  so  here,  those  who  claim  to  be 
par  excellence  Episcopalians  have  not  ceased  to  attack  us  upon 
the  subject  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit.  In  1817,  the  first  bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  country  published 
a  sermon,  or  essay,  upon  "the  assurance  of  the  pardon  of  sin  by 
the  direct  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  in  which  he  held  up  our 
views  as  erroneous  and  as  peculiar  to  our  Church.  Dr.  Emory 
became  our  champion  and  defended  our  cause  most  truimphant- 
ly.  This  letter  alludes  to  this  controversy,  as  well  as  to  his  reply 
to  another  attack  from  a  different  quarter.  It  is  cause  for  grat- 
itude to  God  that  whenever  we  have  needed  a  champjon,  Heav- 
en has  furnished  the  right  man  at  the  right  time. 

The  reference  to  transfers,  in  this  letter,  relates,  we  suppose, 
to  those  who  had  become  disaffected  in  the  city  and  applied  for 
letters  transferring  their  membership,  but  really  were  thus  with- 
drawing from  the  Church. 


Appendix  535 

PHILADELPHIA,  August  21, 1817. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  I  have  not  yet  visited  Maryland  and  conse- 
quently have  not  had  an  interview  with  Dr.  Jennings.  I  received  a  letter 
from  him  sometime  since  inviting  me  to  see  him  in  Baltimore,  which  I  pur- 
pose to  do  soon,  most  probably  next  week,  on  my  way  to  the  Eastern  Shore 
by  that  route. 

I  have  finished  my  piece  in  answer  to  the  Address  of  the  Charitable  So- 
ciety of  Connecticut  and  have  it  ready  for  publication  should  it  be  deemed 
proper  by  Dr.  Jennings  and  those  friends  to  whose  impartial  judgment 
it  may  be  thought  best  to  submit  it.  It  has  been  considerably  enlarged, 
and  I  have  availed  myself  of  some  valuable  extracts  from  Mr.  Wesley  and 
Dr.  Rush,  particularly  the  latter,  who  is  fully  in  our  favor  on  education  in 
general,  and  especially  that  of  the  ministry,  and  being  a  disinterested 
character  of  such  eminience  his  authority  is  the  more  important. 

I  have  been  lately  engaged  in  answering  a  piece  on  another  subject  of 
great  moment  to  us  and  to  the  world.  It  was  written  by  Bishop  White,  of 
this  city,  who  signs  himself  "  W.  W.,"  and  is  in  opposition  to  the  assurance 
of  the  pardon  of  sin  by  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit.  He  undertakes 
particularly  to  expose  the  Methodists  for  inconsistency  on  the  subject,  as 
he  reproaches  them  (glorious  reproach!)  with  being  the  principal  and  al- 
most the  only  advocates  of  the  doctrine.  Although  a  bishop  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  he  has  committed  some  egregious  blunders,  and 
the  goodness  of  my  cause  has  enabled  me,  I  trust,  satisfactorily  to  refute 
him  and  to  vindicate  the  Methodists,  and  particularly  Mr.  Wesley,  from 
his  unjust  charges  and  reflections.  My  answer  contains  fifty-two  pages 
of  letter  paper,  in  the  sheet,  not  very  closely  written. 

As  we  have  no  committee  of  Conference  to  authorize  publications  by 
preachers,  it  seems  hard  either  to  be  lashed  by  our  opponents  without  de- 
fense, having  tied  our  own  hands,  or  defend  ourselves  and  the  Church  and 
be  lashed  by  the  Conference  for  violation  of  rule.  What  is  to  be  done  in 
such  a  case? 

Our  editors  have  sent  us  a  prospectus  of  a  magazine.  They  propose  to 
commence  the  publication  of  it  in  January  next.  Were  they  ready  to  pub- 
lish now,  I  would  send  them  immediately  the  answer  to  "  W.  W., "  especial- 
ly as  his  piece  appeared  in  a  New  York  Register.  But  I  think  it  ought  to 
be  published  sooner.  It  might  be  reprinted  in  the  magazine,  if  approved  of. 

On  Monday  last,  I  received  a  letter  of  the  ninth  instant  from  Bishop 
George,  then  at  Claremont,  N.  H.  He  gives  a  very  favorable  account  of 
revivals  of  religion  in  Canada  and  the  Northern  department  generally, 
says  that  he  had  seen  the  instructions  of  the  British  missionaries,  and  thinks 
the  Conference  in  England  entirely  clear,  and  only  needing  correct  infor- 
mation of  the  proceedings  of  their  missionaries,  so  contrary  to  their  in- 
structions, which  he  proposes  to  give  them  by  letter.  He  expects  to  be  in 
New  York  on  October  5,  and  requested  me  to  inform  him  of  the  tenor  of 
your  letter  to  England,  which  I  shall  do  as  well  as  I  can  recollect. 

We  are  here  in  peace.  I  have  given  but  four  transfers  since  Brother  J. 
R.  went  away,  and  one  only  of  them  was  applied  for  professedly  on  the 


536  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

ground  of  his  going  away.  A  friend  of  his,  who  saw  him  at  a  camp  meeting 
in  Delaware,  informed  me  that  he  believed  J.  R.  would  have  no  objections 
to  being  stationed  at  St.  George's  next  year,  and  thought  it  not  very  im- 
probable, if  you  should  not  be  here.  Some  think,  if  he  can  get  an  oppor- 
tunity he  will  join  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Cnurch,  and  this  he  has  in- 
timated himself. 

Should  we  have  a  publication  soon,  on  either  of  the  above  subjects  in 
pamphlet  form,  a  few  copies  may  reach  you  by  mail. 

Requesting  your  prayers,  with  an  effectionate  rememberance  of  Bishop 
Roberts,  as  ever,  yours,  J.  EMORY. 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  NATHAN  BANGS  TO  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

DR.  BANGS  has  a  national  reputation  as  the  earliest  historian 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  defender  of  her  doc- 
trines and  polity.  It  is  unnecessary  to  sketch  his  life.  That  he 
was  faithful  in  all  his  house,  sincere,  magnanimous,  and  a  most 
devoted  servant  of  God  and  his  Church,  none  will  question; 
even  those  who  differed  from  him  in  Church  polity  never  doubt- 
ed his  purity  of  motive.  He  would  have  scorned  to  gain  his 
ends  by  guile;  and  he  extorted  from  his  ingenuous  opponents 
their  respect  and  esteem.  He  was  a  voluminous  writer  and  a 
great  worker,  having  filled  many  responsible  positions  honorably 
to  himself  and  usefully  to  the  cause  of  Methodism.  Honor  to 
the  noble  and  true  man  who  devoted  a  long  and  useful  life  to  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  Church!  And  honor  to  his 
equally  pure  and  magnanimous  brother,  the  Rev.  Heman  Bangs, 
who  I  believe  still  lives  to  bless  the  Church  and  adorn  the  minis- 
try by  his  beautiful  example  of  gentleness  and  love!  Would  to 
God  the  Church,  North  and  South,  were  full  of  such  men! 

At  the  time  this  letter  was  written,  Dr.  Bangs  was  stationed 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  his  helpers  being  Eben  Smith,  J.  Rob- 
ertson, James  M.  Smith,  and  Peter  P.  Sandford;  and  this  was 
his  report  of  the  condition  of  his  charge  made,  according  to  the 
custom  of  that  time,  to  the  bishop. 

NEW  YORK,  July  4,  1810. 

Dear  Sir:  Through  the  mercy  of  God,  I  am  now  in  a  tolerable  state  of 
bodily  health,  though  I  have  been  recently  afflicted,  as  have  most  of  the 
stationed  preachers  in  this  place. 

I  have  been  here  about  four  weeks,  and  we  have  had  the  happiness  to 
see  the  Redeemer's  cause  advancing.  Several  have  been  converted,  and 
the  people  of  God  appear  in  general  persevering  after  holiness;  but  I  also 
find  some  disagreeable  business  to  attend  to  in  consequence  of  the  back- 
sliding of  some.  There  has  been  a  great  ingathering  in  this  place  for  a  few 
years  past,  and  I  am  apprehensive  that  there  are  some  bad  ones  to  be  cast 
away.  I  find,  however,  that  much  caution  is  necessary  lest  in  plucking 
up  the  tares  we  pull  up  the  wheat  also.  These  things,  with  many  others 
that  might  be  mentioned,  make  my  situation  extremely  delicate;  but, 
blessed  be  God,  that  we  (the  preachers)  are  all  of  one  heart  and  of  one 
mind  in  the  work  so  far! 

There  has  been  much  bustle  and  noise  in  the  city  to-day,  but  many  of 
our  people  assembled  at  the  hours  of  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  and 


538  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

three  in  the  evening  for  prayer,  instead  of  mingling  with  the  giddy  throng 
to  sport  and  laugh.  I  blame  myself  more  than  any  of  the  rest  for  being  in 
any  measure  attracted  by  the  show. 

I  hope  God  is  blessing  you  with  an  increase  of  health  and  vigor  of  mind. 
I  doubt  not  but  you  enjoy  the  solace  of  a  good  conscience,  though,  perhaps, 
groaning  under  the  burden  of  the  charge  which  unavoidably  devolves  upon 
you.  May  God  give  you  every  needful  aid  to  enable  you  to  go  forward  in 
the  glorious  work  in  which  you  are  engaged! 

As  to  myself,  I  think  I  feel  as  much  engaged  as  ever  I  did  in  the  work 
of  God,  though  I  feel  that  I  am  an  unprofitable  servant  and  often  have  to 
lament  my  littleness  of  faith  and  love;  but  God  bears  with  my  weakness 
and  helps  my  infirmities,  so  that  I  am  still  enabled  to  say,  God  is  mine,  and 
I  am  his. 

Please  to  give  my  love  to  Bishop  Asbury. 

I  am  yours,  with  love  and  esteem,  N.  BANGS. 


SACRAMENTAL  SERMON  IN  NASHVILLE  BY  BISHOP 
McKENDREE 

THE  Western  Methodist  (edited  by  Lewis  Garrett  and  John 
N.  Maffitt)  for  December  13,  1833,  contains  an  editorial  notice 
of  the  Bishop,  prefixed  to  the  discourse  reported  as  preached  by 
him  before  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  December 
1,  1833,  as  follows: 

The  first  Sabbath  in  December,  although  a  damp  and  cloudy  day,  was 
signalized  by  circumstances  of  high  interest  to  the  Methodist  society  in 
Nashville.  On  entering  the  splendid  church,  the  first  object  to  arrest  the 
attention  was  the  array  of  sacramental  emblems  in  the  alter,  leading  the 
mind  back  to  scenes  mournfully  dear  to  every  Christian  heart.  Above,  in 
the  pulpit,  the  form  of  the  venerable  senior  bishop  of  the  American  Method- 
ist communion,  McKendree,  was  seen  in  strong  relief  before  the  lofty  cur- 
tains that  fell  between  the  desk  and  the  recess.  His  countenance  was  pale 
but  serene;  his  locks  were  sonewhat  thinned  by  age,  yet  Time  has  but 
sparingly  poured  his  silver  over  them;  his  dark,  penetrating  eyes  have  not 
been  blanched  by  the  frost  of  years;  and  his  figure  is  still  erect  and  al- 
most as  unbending  as  that  of  a  youth  of  twenty. 

The  recollections  associated  with  the  form  of  one  who  has  been  in  the 
ministry  half  a  lifetime  of  Methodism  in  the  world,  and  who  has  devotedly 
filled  the  office  of  a  bishop  since  the  year  1808  were  refreshing  to  the  heart 
of  every  Methodist.  Bishop  McKendree  will  be  seventy-seven  years  of 
age  if  his  life  shall  be  spared  to  the  sixth  day  of  next  July.  Even  under 
this  weight  of  years  and  having  passed  through  hardships  in  the  early  pe- 
riods of  his  ministry  of  which  the  velvet-checked  clergy  of  the  present  gen- 
eration can  have  no  conception,  still  the  reverend  Bishop  sustains  an 
easy,  graceful  carriage  and  that  dignity  of  manners  so  congenial  to  Virginia, 
the  State  of  his  nativity  and  education.  One  cannot  see  him  and  hear  his 
voice  in  public  without  thinking  of  Patrick  Henry,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
John  Marshall,  and  a  long  list  of  other  illustrious  names  that  have  im- 
mortalized the  Old  Dominion. 

Bishop  McKendree  retains  the  acute  and  distinguishing  faculties  of 
his  logical  mind  in  full  and  unimpaired  perfection.  His  memory  may  have 
failed  in  a  degree  in  regard  to  local  and  uninteresting  things,  yet  in  morals, 
in  ethics,  even  in  impassioned  eloquence  and  a  lively  perception  of  the  sub- 
lime arid  beautiful,  his  intellectual  faculties  are  in  the  green  of  their  youth. 

It  can  truly  be  said  of  the  venerable  Bishop,  as  Webster  said  to  La- 
fayette, "Thrice  fortunate  man!"  He  remembers  the  time  when  the 
sainted  Asbury  announced  in  an  emphatic  voice:  "The  increase  of  mem- 
bers in  the  Methodist  Church  in  America  is  this  year  thirteen  thousand." 
He  has  lived  to  the  time  when  the  journals  of  Methodism  announce  an 
annual  increase  of  seventy-one  thousand.  The  dangers  of  the  howling  wil- 


540  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

derness  are  overpassed  and  the  Church  has  emerged  from  its  shadows,  and 
his  eyes  for  half  a  century  have  been  upon  her  paths  and  his  feet  have  been 
with  her  pioneers.  The  last  days  of  such  a  man  become  inestimably  pre- 
cious. They  are  like  the  mystic  leaves  of  the  Roman  sibyl,  they  increase 
in  value  as  their  number  is  diminished. 

The  following  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Bishop  in  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct voice,  accompanied  by  a  weight  of  manner  and  character  which  can- 
not appear  in  print.  The  sketch  which  we  give  embraces  the  sentiments 
and  to  a  good  extent  the  expressions  which  were  delivered  on  the  occasion, 
although  the  hearers  of  the  discourse  may  remember  some  beautiful  touch- 
es that  they  may  not  find  in  it  as  we  have  printed  it. 

After  the  delivery  of  the  sermon,  the  reverend  Bishop  consecrated  the 
elements  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and,  assisted  by  the  reverend  presiding 
elder  of  the  Cumberland  District,  A.  L.  P.  Green,  and  the  Rev.  F.  E.  Pitts, 
of  the  Nashville  Station,  administered  the  ordinance,  first  to  the  ministry 
and  then  to  the  membership.  Four  times  the  spacious  altar  was  encircled 
by  kneeling  communicants,  who 

"Ate  the  white  memorial  bread, 
And  drank  the  sacramental  cup." 

The  following  is  the  Bishop's  sermon: 

"For  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom;  but  we  preach  Christ 
crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness;  but  unto  them 
which  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God." 
(1  Cor.  i.  22-24.) 

"The  text  manifestly  exhibits  a  diversity  of  sentiment,  but  from  the 
beginning  it  was  not  so.  When  Jehovah  informed  Adam  that  the  seed  of 
the  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  all  his  posterity  were  then  in 
his  loins  and  equally  interested  in  the  blessings  contained  in  the  promise. 
But  that  promise  referred  to  the  mediatorial  government  of  Christ  and 
comprehended  the  salvation  of  the  human  family  by  virtue  of  the  divine 
atonement.  Therefore  all  the  sons  of  Adam  were  included  in  the  pro- 
vision made  for  fallen  man. 

"From  Adam  to  Abraham  more  light  was  given  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
and  the  design  of  the  promise  was  better  understood;  but  the  promise  on 
which  the  gracious  plan  of  redemption  rested  remained  the  same  and  the 
evidence  for  its  support,  though  much  enlarged,  remained  the  same  also. 
The  contemplated  blessings  were  equally  accessible  to  all,  and  all  had  an 
equal  claim  to  them.  Hitherto  there  was  no  distinction,  no  preference  of 
one  above  another,  except  what  proceeds  from  faith  and  obedience  on  one 
hand  and  unbelief  and  transgression  on  the  other.  But  as  men  multiplied, 
sin  abounded  and  the  world  ripened  for  destruction.  At  length  Infinite 
Wisdom  selected  Abraham  and  his  posterity  from  the  rest  of  mankind  and 
entered  into  covenant  with  them!  According  to  this  covenant,  Jehovah 
graciously  pledged  himself  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  Abraham  and  his 
seed,  to  direct  their  course,  to  protect  them  against  adverse  power,  and  to 
supply  their  temporal  and  spiritual  wants  on  condition  that  they  and  their 


Appendix  541 

succeeding  generations  should  faithfully  obey  him  as  their  rightful  sov- 
ereign and  walk  before  him  in  a  perfect  way. 

"By  this  means  Infinite  Wisdom  preserved  the  knowledge  and  worship 
of  the  true  God  in  Abraham's  family  which  was  eventually  lost  among  the 
rest  of  men,  ultimately  to  usher  the  true  Messiah  into  the  world  surrounded 
with  such  incontestable  evidence  as  bids  defiance  to  opposition  and  criti- 
cism. 

"But  this  covenant  was  with  Abraham  and  his  seed,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  rest  of  Adam's  race,  yes,  and  the  rest  of  Abraham's  father's  children. 
But  this  exclusion  does  not  affect  the  blessings  contained  in  the  promise 
made  to  Adam;  these  they  continue  to  enjoy  as  they  did  in  common  with 
Abraham  prior  to  the  covenant. 

"It  only  restricted  the  privileges  peculiarly  set  forth  in  the  covenant 
to  the  contracting  parties,  who  in  the  first  instance  were  Abraham  and  his 
seed.  But  the  door  was  open  to  the  Gentiles.  It  only  remained  for  the 
Gentiles  to  believe  and  obey  God  as  Abraham  did  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  covenant  and  submit  to  its  conditions  in  order  to  be  adopted 
into  Abraham's  family  and  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  his  natural  and  spirit- 
ual children.  But  this  dispensation  of  grace  was  not  understood  according 
to  the  design  of  its  Divine  Author.  Nor  did  the  parties  treat  each  other 
with  due  respect.  Hence  the  difference. 

"The  Jews  highly  esteemed  their  distinguishing  privileges.  They  con- 
sidered themselves  the  children  of  God,  the  elect  of  God,  the  well-beloved 
and  highly  favored  of  the  Lord,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others;  and  as  they 
rose  in  their  own  estimation,  they  depreciated  the  rest  of  men;  they  were 
esteemed  as  rejected  reprobates  and  hated  of  God,  until  there  was  no 
dealing  between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans,  yea,  it  was  considered  un- 
lawful for  a  Jew  to  go  into  the  house  of  one  of  another  nation.  And  so 
fearful  were  they  of  being  misled  that  when  the  prophets,  even  Christ  him- 
self, taught  different  from  their  notions  or  traditions,  they  demanded  a 
sign  or  signs,  miracles,  to  prove  their  mission  to  be  of  God. 

"They  expected  the  promised  Messiah  to  come  in  pomp  and  great  glory, 
to  exercise  regal  authority,  and  reinstate  them  in  the  power,  authority,  and 
honors  they  enjoyed  under  King  David.  But  his  appearance  and  conduct 
were  entirely  different.  They  demanded  the  signs  of  such  a  Messiah  as 
they  expected  and  were  disappointed,  and  therefore  they  rejected  and  cru- 
cified him. 

"In  opposition  to  the  Jews,  the  Greeks  gloried  in  wisdom.  The  wis- 
dom so  highly  prized  by  them  was  the  result  of  philosophic  research.  They 
possessed  every  advantage  that  human  nature  could  have,  independently 
of  a  divine  revelation,  and  they  had  cultivated  their  minds  to  the  utmost, 
and  still  remained  ignorant  of  the  true  God;  for  the  world  by  wisdom, 
philosophy,  cannot  find  out  God.  The  Greeks  could  not,  consistently 
with  their  philosophy,  believe  that  proclaiming  supreme  happiness  through 
a  man  that  was  crucified  in  Judea  as  a  malefactor  could  ever  comport 
with  reason  and  common  sense.  They  therefore  rejected  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation as  proposed  in  the  gospel;  by  them  it  was  esteemed  foolishness. 


542  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

"In  this  state  of  things  St.  Paul  appeared  and  shone  as  a  star  of  the  first 
magnitude.  Regardless  of  the  conflicting  views  of  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks, 
he  said:  'I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ;  for  it  is  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also 
to  the  Greek.'  And  therefore  he  constantly  preached  Christ  crucified  as 
the  only  way  to  obtain  pardon  and  peace  and  get  to  heaven. 

"He  affirmed  that  all  had  sinned,  contracted  guilt,  and  were  left  with- 
out ability  to  return  to  God  and  extricate  themselves  from  the  painful 
effects  of  a  guilty  conscience.  For  this  important  purpose,  by  virtue  of 
Christ  crucified,  fallen  man  is  transferred  from  the  Adamic  law,  which  nei- 
ther admitted  pardon  nor  supplied  ability,  to  the  government  of  Christ, 
where  all  necessary  blessings  are  supplied.  Here  pardon  is  granted  to 
penitent  sinners.  Here  grace  is  offered  to  repent,  to  believe,  and  moral 
ability,  given  to  obey  the  Redeemer's  laws  and  be  happy  in  time  and  in  eter- 
nity. 

"He  proves  that  by  sin  man  had  lost  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  and 
missed  the  way  of  happiness;  that  though  by  wisdom  or  philosophy  he 
might  become  extensively  acquainted  with  the  things  of  this  world,  yet  by 
wisdom  the  men  of  this  world  could  not  find  out  God  or  the  way  to  enjoy 
him  here  or  hereafter.  To  supply  this  deficiency,  he  preached  Christ  cru- 
cified, as  the  Creator  of  all  things,  who  inhabits  eternity,  and  graciously 
condescends  to  reveal  himself  to  man  so  far  as  is  necessary  for  his  present 
and  eternal  happiness  and  to  point  out  the  way  to  obtain  and  enjoy  those 
blessings. 

"St.  Paul  shows  that  fallen  man  is  not  only  guilty  and  ignorant,  but 
that  he  is  utterly  unable  to  protect  himself  and  manage  his  own  affairs. 
But  this  deficiency  is  supplied  by  the  crucified  Redeemer,  who  graciously 
undertakes  the  management  of  our  affairs  and  as  a  King  is  amply  provided 
with  wisdom  to  direct  all  our  affairs,  power  to  protect  in  all  cases,  and  funds 
to  supply  all  our  wants. 

"St.  Paul  constantly  affirmed  that  the  gospel  through  Christ  crucified 
was  the  power  of  God  to  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  both  Jews  and  Greeks. 
His  preaching  was  not  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  simplicity  and  power. 
Such  was  the  energy  that  attended  his  eloquence,  that  he  astonished  and 
confounded  the  wise  men  on  Mars'  Hill  (Acts  xvii.  22-34),  and,  though  a 
prisoner  in  chains,  made  his  judge  tremble  on  his  seat.  (Acts  xxiv.  25; 
xxvi.  28.)  He  almost  persuaded  Agrippa  to  be  a  Christian,  and  through 
his  instrumentality  the  gospel  of  the  cross  of  Christ  found  its  way  into 
Caesar's  household,  his  court,  his  army,  and  through  the  provinces  of  Rome; 
and,  blessed  be  God,  the  work  is  still  progressing  and  will  continue  to  pro- 
gress while  the  doctrines  of  the  cross  are  preached  in  their  primitive  spirit 
and  power. 

"  Christ  and  his  apostles  did  not  apply  the  commands  of  God  so  as  for  one 
to  supersede  or  lessen  the  influence  of  another;  they  were  all  enforced  by 
the  same  authority.  'Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work;  but 
the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God:  in  it  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,'  were  enjoined  by  the  same  authority;  therefore  St.  Paul  said, 


Appendix.  543 

'  He  that'will  not  work  shall  not  eat,'  shall  not  live  on  the  funds  collected  for 
the  poor.  Nor  were  those  funds  appropriated  to  tempt  talented  men  with 
large  salaries  to  lecture  on  any  one  grace  and  collect  moneys  for  particular 
purposes.  But  the  preachers  were  equally  enjoined  in  the  discharge  of 
their  ministerial  duties  to  exhort  all  Christians,  by  giving  diligence,  to  add 
to  their  faith  virtue,  knowledge,  temperance,  patience,  godliness,  brotherly 
kindness,  charity,  assuring  them,  'if  these  things  be  in  you  and  abound,' 
that  they  should  be  neither  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"We  have  attempted  to  give  a  specimen  of  the  apostle's  method  of 
preaching  Christ  crucified,  which,  to  the  called,  the  genuine  Christian, 
whether  Jew  or  Greek,  was  found  to  be  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom 
of  God.  By  believing  the  gospel,  they  experienced  pardon  and  the  regen- 
erating grace  of  God,  were  delivered  from  the  guilt  of  past  sins  and  from 
the  practive  and  love  of  sin.  They  were  filled  with  joy  and  peace  and 
enabled  to  pass  unhurt  through  the  difficulties  over  which  the  Jews  stum- 
bled and  fell,  to  suffer  all  things  and  to  go  on  their  way  rejoicing. 

"By  viewing  the  system  which  the  Greeks  thought  to  be  foolishness 
in  the  light  of  revelation,  it  far  surpassed  the  reach  of  human  sagacity. 
That  system  was  not  a  subject  of  rational  investigation,  but  of  pure  reve- 
lation, in  which  the  wisdom  of  God  is  astonishingly  displayed  in  forming 
a  plan  by  which  fallen  man  may  be  saved  and  God  remain  just  when  he 
justifies  the  ungodly.  In  Abraham  and  his  posterity  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  and  his  worship  was  preserved  which  was  lost  eventually  among 
the  rest  of  mankind,  and  a  way  was  prepared  for  the  introduction  of  the 
true  Messiah  surrounded  with  such  incontestable  evidence  as  bids  de- 
fiance to  opposition  and  criticism.  Having  experienced  the  power  and 
efficacy  of  the  gospel,  it  only  remains  for  him  to  continue  steadfast  in  the 
faith,  uniformly  to  obey  the  command,  and  diligently  seek  and  exercise 
the  graces,  to  abide  under  the  protection  of  the  Almighty  and  perfect 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God. 

"Therefore  let  us  examine  ourselves  and  if  we  have  departed  in  any  de- 
gree from  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  apostles  or  from  their  zeal,  spirit,  and 
manner  of  enforcing  them  or  from  genuine  simplicity  of  manner  or  dress 
let  us  return  to  the  good  old  way  with  full  purpose  of  heart  that  the  Lord 
may  continue  to  bless  and  prosper  us  until  the  great  work  to  which  we  are 
called  is  accomplished," 


CHRISTMAS  SERMON  IN  NASHVILLE,  DECEMBER  25, 
1833,  BY  BISHOP  McKENDREE 

THE  following  discourse  was  delivered  by  Bishop  McKendree 
in  Nashville,  December  25, 1833.  It  was  not  so  much  a  regular 
sermon  as  a  Christmas  talk  of  an  aged  preacher  to  his  old  friends 
and  their  children.  He  was  near  his  end  and  too  feeble  to  bear 
the  fatigue  of  much  effort  of  body  or  mind.  It  is  certainly  not 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  pulpit  efforts  of  his  palmy  days,  but  was 
taken  down  by  a  hearer  and  published  in  the  Western  Methodist. 
Who  has  not  realized  a  sad  disappointment  in  reading  a  dis- 
course after  having  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  the  speaker?  How 
tame  and  commonplace  it  reads!  We  do  not  hear  the  accents 
of  his  mellifluous  voice;  we  see  not  his  graceful  and  impressive 
gestures;  his  eyes  burning  and  bright  with  the  inspiration  of  his 
theme;  and  his  face  expressing  the  thoughts  of  his  mind  and  the 
emotions  of  his  heart  are  all  wanting.  The  mysterious  chord 
of  sympathy  and  the  electric  mental  and  emotional  action  and 
reaction  which  exist  between  the  speaker  and  his  audience  are 
absent.  The  contrast  is  often  observed  even  under  circum- 
stances most  favorable,  insomuch  that  printed  sermons  are  seldom 
read  with  much  interest,  but  generally  fall  stillborn  from  the 
press.  Those  only  which  develop  great  vital  truths  and  reveal 
the  plan  of  salvation  in  clear,  simple,  and  striking  language  be- 
come permanently  popular  and  useful  among  the  masses. 

We  have  to  supplement  the  Bishop's  Christmas  effort  with 
his  venerable  form,  his  lofty  forehead,  a  few  gray  hairs  resting 
upon  it,  the  remander  falling  back,  and  scarcely  concealing  the 
surface  of  his  head,  his  wan  and  intellectual  face,  varying  in 
expression  with  every  new  thought  and  feeling,  now  calm  and 
quiet  like  a  lake  without  wind  or  wave,  then  as  if  gently  moved 
by  a  passing  zephyr,  anon  thrown  into  a  thousand  ripples,  re- 
flecting the  gleams  of  mental  joy,  and  presently  aroused  to  its 
highest  efforts  by  subline  conceptions  which  stir  his  soul  to  its 
inmost  depths. 

His  text  was  a  fit  theme  for  the  man  and  the  occasion.  The 
veteran  of  near  fifty  years'  devotion  to  the  task  of  developing 
the  story  of  the  cross,  now,  at  the  close  of  his  life  and  labors, 
comes  to  join  the  wise  men  of  the  East  and  the  simple  shepherds 
of  the  vale  to  behold  and  worship  the  wonderful  Babe  of  Beth- 
lehem and  unite  with  the  angelic  host  in  adoration  and  praise; 


Appendix  545 

and  while  in  imagination  we  listen  to  the  soft  and  silvery  accents 
which  proclaim,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
peace,  good  will  toward  men!"  forgetting  time  and  space,  we 
seem  to  hear  the  heavenly  choir,  in  the  refrain  of  a  human  voice, 
responding  in  the  celestial  anthem. 

It  was  an  occasion  of  great  interest  to  his  audience.  It  oc- 
curred in  a  large  and  elegant  church  recently  dedicated  and 
bearing  his  name,  and  was  addressed  to  a  multitude  whose  par- 
ents and  grandparents  he  had  long  known  and  served  and 
whose  children  now  heard  him  as  expecting  to  hear  and  see  him 
no  more. 

"And  there  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over 
their  flock  by  night.  And  lo,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shone  round  about  them;  and  they  were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  said  unto  them, 
Fear  not;  for  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  DP  to  all  people.  For 
unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And 
this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you:  Ye  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in 
a  manger.  And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  prais- 
ing God,  and  saying,  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men." 
(Luke  ii.  8-14.) 

In  this  communication  we  have  the  most  sublime,  important,  and  inter- 
esting information  ever  made  to  fallen  man.  As  it  has  respect  to  the  per- 
fection of  God  and  heavenly  things,  it  is  subline.  And  as  it  implies  terms 
of  peace,  reconciliation  with  rebellious  subjects,  it  is  therefore  of  the  utmost 
importance;  and  seeing  that  it  embraces  every  individual  of  every  nation, 
it  is,  of  all  subjects,  the  most  interesting. 

But  men  have  no  senses  by  which  they  can  obtain  correct  ideas  of  God 
and  heavenly  things;  nor  can  the  human  mind  obtain  ideas  of  any  objects 
of  which  it  is  perfectly  ignorant;  therefore  this  is  not  a  subject  of  rational 
investigation,  but  of  pure  revelation;  and  we  may  confidently  rely  on  such 
information  as  the  Lord  may  please  to  give  for  our  faith,  instruction,  and 
comfort.  Evidence  in  support  of  the  communication  will  appear  by  the 
persons  through  whom  it  is  made  and  the  manner  of  instructing  them. 
When  a  messenger  is  sent  by  any  nation  to  transact  business  with  another, 
he  is  supposed  to  possess  natural  and  acquired  abilities  for  the  business 
assigned  him.  But  among  men  there  were  none  found  qualified  for  this 
business,  therefore  one  was  chosen  from  heaven  to  divulge  the  mysterious 
subject  which  prophets  could  not  understand. 

Therefore  a  messenger  was  sent  from  heaven  to  announce  the  birth  of 
the  Saviour.  When  this  all-important  fact  was  eatablished  among  men, 
they  were  competent  witnesses  of  that  which  they  had  seen  and  heard  and 
felt.  The  angel  had  to  address  some  of  the  lower  order  of  men,  yet  he  made 
his  appearance  in  the  glory  and  power  of  his  heavenly  character.  To  the 
poor  shepherds  this  was  a  terrific  appearance,  and  they  were  sore  afraid. 
By  this  means  the  mind  was  sufficiently  aroused  to  attend  to  their  visitor; 
but  the  excitement  was  too  great  for  them  to  attend  deliberately  to  what 
they  were  to  hear;  therefore  the  angel  said  unto  them:  "Fear  not,  for  be- 
35 


546  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

hold  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people." 
Evil  is  the  object  of  fear;  good  tidings  imply  a  desirable  object.  Thus  the 
angel  prepared  the  shepherds  to  receive  his  message,  and  then  said:  "For 
unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ 
the  Lord.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you:  ye  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped 
in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger.  And  suddenly  there  was  with  the 
angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  praising  God,  and  saying,  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men."  As  soon 
as  the  angel  had  delivered  his  message,  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host 
added  their  testimony  to  that  of  the  angelic  msesenger  by  giving  glory  to 
God  in  the  highest  for  his  wisdom  and  goodness  in  saving  fallen  man  and 
added  their  acknowledgments  to  the  praises  of  the  Redeemer  for  what  God 
had  done  for  them. 

Truth  never  shuns,  but  frequently  invites,  investigation.  The  shep- 
herds, being  instructed,  hastened  to  Bethlehem  for  the  purpose  of  examin- 
ing into  this  matter.  After  they  did  so  and  found  the  statements  to  be  in 
perfect  accordance  with  facts  in  every  particular,  they  therefore,  without 
delay,  proclaimed  the  advent  of  the  promised  Messiah  to  the  deeply  inter- 
ested sons  of  fallen  Adam.  And  the  testimony  of  the  shepherds  is  added 
to  that  of  the  heavenly  host  to  support  our  faith  and  establish  this  glorious 
truth. 

When  atonement  was  made  for  sin  and  the  Saviour  had  entered  fully 
into  the  government  of  his  purchased  possession,  he  chose  twelve  men  as 
heralds  to  proclaim  his  reign  and  publish  the  laws  by  which  his  subjects 
were  to  be  governed.  These,  as  well  as  the  shepherds,  were  selected  from 
among  the  common  laboring  class  of  men;  they  were  fishermen  by  occu- 
pation, but  by  a  miraculous  supply  of  the  spirit  of  wisdom  they  were  raised 
to  the  office  of  apostles,  the  most  dignified  station  that  man  ever  filled. 
By  them  the  doctrines  of  truth  were  published  and  confirmed  by  the  power 
of  God  working  miracles  through  their  instrumentality,  confirming  thereby 
their  statements. 

In  selecting  the  unlearned  from  among  shepherds  and  fishermen  to  fill 
high  and  responsible  stations,  the  wisdom  of  God  is  manifested  and  faith 
in  the  system  of  the  Christian  religion  greatly  increased.  Had  the  learned, 
the  rich,  and  powerful  of  the  earth  been  chosen,  the  people  would  have 
gone  after  them,  and  religion  would  have  rested  on  the  wisdom  of  men  (as 
it  does  in  many  cases)  instead  of  the  power  of  God  and  there  would  have 
been  some  shade  of  plausibility  to  the  charge  of  its  being  priestcraft.  But 
this  treasure  was  put  into  earthen  vessels,  illiterate  men;  the  case  is  there- 
fore different;  and  to  be  followers  of  such  men  as  God  had  chosen,  men  who 
direct  us  to  look  to  and  trust  for  salvation  in  a  man  who  was  crucified  as 
a  malefactor,  was  deemed  unreasonable,  unpopular,  and  disgraceful;  and 
seeing  that  it  exposed  thtm  to  suffering  and  death,  therefore  there  was 
nothing  to  influence  men  under  such  circumstances  to  become  followers 
of  sucn  teachers  but  a  clear  conviction  that  they  were  taught  of  and  sup- 
ported by  the  Almighty  God. 

Had  the  glad  tidings  been  restricted  to  the  shepherds,  it  would  have 


Appendix  547 

been  a  matter  of  great  joy  to  them;  but  as  the  sensibility  of  a  grateful 
heart  is  abundantly  enlarged  bv  a  supply  which  he  may  enjoy  in  common 
with  his  needy  fellow  creatuies,  so  when  all  people,  every  individual  of 
every  nation,  were  included,  the  grateful  heart  must  overflow  with  un- 
utterable joy. 

The  subject  matter  of  the  glad  tidings. of  great  joy  is  declared  in  tnese 
words,  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord,  Christ  the  anointed,  the  Lord, 
the  Jehovah  of  the  Jews.  But  our  attention  is  more  particularly  directed 
to  the  Saviour.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  advent  of  our  Saviour  was 
good  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people.  Then  all  people  were  interested  in 
the  Saviour,  otherwise  it  would  not  be  glad  tidings  to  all;  but  this  all-im- 
portant truth  does  not  depend  on  inferential  reasonings;  it  is  sufficiently 
supported  by  direct  testimony.  We  are  told  in  the  Scripture  that  "God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  For  God  sent 
not  his  Son  intothe  world  to  condemn  the  \vorld,  but  that  the  world  through 
him  might  bt  saved."  (John  iii.  16,  17.)  St.  John  says:  "He  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world."  (IJohnii.  2.)  "And  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he 
shall  save  his  people  from  thdr  sins."  (Matt.  i.  21.)  Again:  "We  trust 
in  the  living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  them  that 
believe."  (1  Tim.  iv.  10.) 

From  these  incontestable  authorities  it  appears  that  all  the  sons  of  Adam 
are  individually  interested  in  and  benefited  by  the  divine  atonement  for 
sins;  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour  of  all,  and  that  he  wills  the  present  and 
eternal  happiness  of  all,  we  cannot  doubt;  but  that  man  is  an  accountable 
agent,  may  accept  or  reject  the  gracious  terms  of  peace  and  salvation,  is 
equally  true.  Faith  working  by  love  is  the  condition  on  which  God  bestows 
the  saving  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  but  sinful  man  is  so  taken  up  with  the 
things  of  this  world  that  his  eternal  interest  is  put  off  for  a  more  conven- 
ient season. 

In  this  state  of  things  St.  Paul  says:  "We  trust  in  the  living  God,  who 
is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  of  them  that  believe."  The  apostle 
divides  the  human  family  into  two  classes — believers  and  unbelievers. 
Jesus  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men.  He  has  sufficient  means  and  is  willing  to 
save  all  from  their  sins  and  make  them  happy;  but  as  the  latter  are  ac- 
countable agents,  he  only  saves  as  far  as  they  will  permit.  Hear  the  lan- 
guage of  Christ  to  an  afflicted  woman:  "But  Jesus  turned  him  about,  and 
when  he  saw  her,  he  said,  Daughter,  be  of  good  comfort;  thy  faith  hath 
made  thea  whole."  (Matt.  ix.  22.)  Again  says  Christ:  "  If  ye  abide  in  me, 
and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done 
unto  you."  (John  xv.  7.)  And  again,  "Ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye 
might  have  life;"  and  yet  he  is  their  Saviour.  In  the  first  instance,  fallen 
man  was  rescued  fron  the  penalty  of  the  law  and  restored  to  a  state  of  ac- 
countability for  voluntary  actions,  and  grace  is  afforded  to  repent  and  turn 
to  God;  and  frequent  remonstrances  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  given  to  cor- 
rect and  urge  fallen  man  to  his  duty.  In  the  second  place,  sinners  are  saved 


548  Life  and  Times  of  Bishop  McKendree 

by  Jesus  Christ  from  the  punishment  due  to  their  daily  transgressions  of 
the  law  of  God.  They  are  warned  of  their  danger;  they  are  graciously  re- 
strained by  the  Holy  Ghost  from  committing  sins  into  which  they  would 
otherwise  plunge;  they  art  exhorted  to  put  away  the  evil  of  their  doings 
and  embrace  the  proffered  terms  of  pardon  and  reconciliation;  they  are 
assured  that,  on  condition  of  faith,  Jesus  is  not  only  ready  and  willing  to 
forgive  what  is  past,  but  to  save  them  from  the  nature  and  consequences 
of  sin.  But  they  reject  proffered  mercy  and  by  voluntarily  persisting  in 
their  rebellions  against  God  their  Saviour,  they  compel  him  either  to  ab- 
dicate his  kingdom  or  enforce  his  laws;  the  latter  follows  of  necessity;  there- 
fore their  ruin  is  altogether  of  themselves,  contrary  to  the  design  of  the 
gospel  and  the  will  of  their  rightful  Lord  and  Saviour;  for  he  does  not  save 
men  in  their  sins,  but  from  their  sins.  Therefore  none  are  saved  but  those 
who  forsake  their  sins  and  believe  in  him.  He  that  cometh  to  God  must  be- 
lieve that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him. 
This  is  the  state  of  sincere  seekers  of  religion.  The  Lord  acknowledges 
such  as  disciples,  saves  them  from  the  practice  of  sin,  and  enables  them  to 
apprehend  the  design  of  the  gospel  and  ardently  desire  to  know  Christ  as 
their  Saviour.  This  desire  moves  men  to  seek  the  knowledge  of  Christ  in 
the  use  of  the  means;  they  are  conscious  of  their  unhappy  situation  and 
are  making  feeble  efforts  to  come  to  the  Lord,  weary  and  heavy  laden, 
hoping  for  and  looking  to  Christ  for  the  much-needed  and  graciously  prom- 
ised blessing;  their  prayer  is  heard,  their  sins  are  pardoned,  and  by  the 
operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  soul  is  regenerated  and  born  again.  The 
Spirit  not  only  performs  the  work,  but  gives  the  subject  knowledge  of 
what  is  done,  and  the  knowledge  of  sins  forgiven  frees  the  conscience  of 
what  is  past  and  fixes  it  as  a  sentinel  to  examine  and  decide  on  the  pro- 
priety or  impropriety  of  what  we  think  of  doing. 

By  these  means  we  are  guarded  from  doing  wrong  and  excited  to  do 
that  which  is  right;  but  conscience  acts  in  conformity  with  the  judgment; 
therefore,  in  order  to  preserve  a  proper  conscience,  the  judgment  must  be 
correctly  informed;  then  in  communicating  and  receiving  instruction, 
great  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  revealed  will  of  God.  Conformably 
to  the  designs  of  the  gospel,  Jesus  graciously  saves  the  penitent  sinner  from 
the  practice  of  sin;  but  the  believer,  the  regenerate  soul,  is  saved  not  only 
from  the  practice,  but  also  from  the  guilt  and  love  of  sin.  In  the  language 
of  St.  Paul:  "He  is  a  new  creature:  old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  all 
things  are  become  new."  (2  Cor.  v.  17.)  His  spiritual  senses  are  waked 
up;  he  now  views  things  in  the  light  of  revelation.  Sin  and  folly,  which  he 
formerly  loved,  now  are  objects  of  aversion  and  hateful  unto  him.  But  his 
aversion  to  God  and  revelation  is  now  changed  into  love  and  admiration. 
Though  regenerated  and  born  again,  he  is  not  free  from  the  remains  of  the 
carnal  mind,  for  when  he  is  tempted  by  the  world,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  or 
the  pride  of  life,  he  perceives  something  within  which  would  join  with  the 
temptation  and  involve  him  in  sin;  but  that  indwelling  grace  by  which  he 
perceives  the  snare  prompts  him  to  resist  the  temptation  and  pray  for  de- 
liverance, and  he  is  thereby  preserved  from  contracting  guilt  and  over- 


Appendix  549 

comes  the  temptation;  but  he  is  left  to  mourn  on  account  of  the  remaining 
propensity  to  evil  and  sin. 

"Tis  worse  than  death  my  God  to  love, 
And  not  my  God  alone." 

He  rejoices  in  the  victory  obtained  over  the  temptation,  but  the  appre- 
hension of  falling  some  day  or  other,  as  by  the  hand  of  Saul,  causes  much 
solicitude.  He  feels  temptation  to  sin  and  finds  there  is  something  within 
which  would  unite  with  the  temptation;  hence  he  concludes  that  this  some- 
thing within,  which  would  unite  with  the  temptation,  is  of  itself  sinful.  To 
such,  the  doctrine  of  perfect  love  which  casteth  out  all  fear  is  of  the  deepest 
interest.  He  therefore  makes  known  all  his  wants,  this  in  particular,  unto 
Jesus,  and  prays  in  faith  for  deliverance  from  this  troublesome  inmate.  He 
now  perceives  the  difference  between  the  passions  and  the  quality  of  the 
passions.  The  passions  of  the  soul  remain  unchanged  in  their  nature,  but 
the  superadded  propensities  to  sin  are  destroyed  and  the  passions  are  in- 
flamed with  love  to  God,  who  hath  done  so  great  things  for  him;  and  now  be- 
ing made  free  from  sin  in  a  sense  far  exceeding  his  former  experience,  he  has 
his  fruit  unto  holiness  in  a  more  refined  and  extended  degree  than  before. 
As  the  soul,  when  converted  and  born  again,  undergoes  no  change  in  its 
physical  nature,  but  in  its  dispositions  relative  to  sin  or  holiness  the  pas- 
sions when  purified  by  the  power  of  grace  undergo  no  change  as  passions 
of  the  soul,  as  such  they  are  the  gifts  of  God  and  are  given  for  wise  pur- 
poses; but  the  passions  are  cleansed  from  sinful  propensities  and  prepared 
to  enjoy  God  more  perfectly. 

For  this  purpose  St.  Paul  says:  "Warning  every  man,  and  teaching 
every  man  in  all  wisdom;  that  we  may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ 
Jesus."  (Col.  i.  28.)  And  speaking  of  the  Church,  St.  Paul  says:  "Christ 
gave  himself  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing 
of  water  by  the  word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  Church, 
not  having  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish."  By  setting  the  doctrine  of  sanctification  too  high 
or  too  low,  its  influence  may  be  prevented.  It  is  neither  more  nor  less  than 
perfect  love,  loving  God  with  all  the  heart,  and  our  neighbor  as  ourselves. 

If  an  American  eagle  was  tried  by  the  French  or  Spanish  standard,  it 
would  be  found  to  be  deficient;  but  when  tried  by  the  American  standard, 
though  it  is  not  virgin  gold,  yet  it  is  found  to  be  perfect  by  the  standard 
of  American  coin;  so  if  Christian  perfection  is  tried  by  the  perfection  of 
Deity  or  of  angelic  perfection,  it  must  be  found  wanting;  but  when  in- 
finite wisdom  examines  fallen  man  by  the  gospel,  he  finds  many  perfect 
Christians.  To  such  we  would  say,  As  ye  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  him.  By  grace  ye  are  saved  through  faith.  This  will 
apply  to  the  sanctified  as  well  as  the  justified;  therefore,  in  order  to  obtain 
this  blessing,  the  subject  must  believe  the  doctrine,  honestly  abstain  from 
all  appearance  of  evil,  which  is  the  condition  upon  which  the  blessing  is 
bestowed  (1  Thess.  v.  22,  23),  and  humbly  and  confidently  look  to  Jesus 
in  the  use  of  the  means  until  you  obtain  the  desired  blessing.  Faithful  is 
he  that  calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it. 


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